Yesterday, three developers submitted proposals to construct the first offshore wind farms in Massachusetts. These bids mark a pivotal step towards achieving the vision of last year’s landmark legislation, An Act to Promote Energy Diversity, which mandates the procurement of 1,600 MW of offshore wind by June 30, 2027. With submissions in, the Commonwealth is poised to take a leading position in the nation’s burgeoning offshore wind industry.

The three bids all come from NECEC member companies and strategic partners: Baystate Wind, a partnership between Ørsted and Eversource; Revolution Wind, a partnership between Deepwater Wind, National Grid, and FirstLight Power Resources*; and Vineyard Wind, in partnership with Avangrid Renewables. Each project is unique in its scale and execution. Baystate Wind intends to pair its 800 MW project 25 miles off the coast of New Bedford with a 55 MW battery storage solution, the largest such system ever proposed in conjunction with a wind farm. Deepwater Wind, the developer of Rhode Island’s Block Island Wind Farm, seeks to pair its 400 MW project with a “first-of-its-kind offshore transmission backbone.” Deepwater will allow future projects developed by competitors to connect to this transmission network. Vineyard Wind, meanwhile, aims to begin construction its 800 MW project 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard in 2019, the earliest of the three projects. .

NECEC is proud to see its member companies driving the development of offshore wind in the United States. Whichever proposals are selected, offshore wind will create thousands of homegrown clean energy jobs and provide non-emitting power to millions of Massachusetts residents. The future is certainly bright for the offshore wind industry here in the Northeast.

*Not currently an NECEC member