NECEC today released the following statement regarding the Baker-Polito Administration's announcement that Northern Pass Hydro was selected as the sole bid to move forward as part of the Commonwealth’s 83D procurement:

“NECEC is both surprised and disappointed to see that the selection announced by the Baker-Polito Administration today did not include any Class 1 RPS eligible renewable energy resources,” said NECEC President Peter Rothstein.

“In 2016, the Legislature specifically included Class 1 eligible resources, primarily wind and solar, as part of this procurement to ensure there would be healthy competition to hydro energy to provide Massachusetts consumers with the most competitive prices for this scale of a long-term commitment.”

“This solicitation was meant to encourage innovative proposals across a range of resources and to take into account economics but also meeting the Commonwealth’s goals of adding more renewables. Not including renewables in this solicitation is a major set back to the effort to truly diversify the Commonwealth’s energy mix and advance renewable energy.”