Massachusetts announces largest offshore wind procurement in history

BOSTON (WWLP) – Massachusetts and Rhode Island announced New England’s largest-ever offshore wind project at a press conference on Friday afternoon.

The energy savings from the project are predicted to be the equivalent of taking one million gas-powered cars off the road.

Massachusetts selected three sites to procure offshore wind–totaling 2,878 megawatts–that will power 1.4 million homes across the state.

This project will represent almost twenty percent of the state’s total electric demand.

“For decades, our entire region has experienced significant volatility in prices while also worrying about reliability. Massachusetts cannot continue down this path,” said Secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environment Affairs, Rebecca Tepper at the press conference. “Offshore wind is our future, and it’s vital that we build that future today.”

Governor Healey said that in addition to strides in clean energy, the projects will create thousands of jobs and generate billions in economic activity.

“What we do today is make an investment in our competitiveness, our economic growth, and in our future,” said the governor. “Massachusetts is going to be the global hub for clean energy and climate technology.”

The three sites–the SouthCoast Wind project, New England Wind 1, and Vineyard Wind 2–are each expected to provide over 3,000 high-paying jobs.

This project was originally in collaboration with Connecticut, and the governor says they are still welcome to rejoin the procurement.

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