Removing Price Cap Will Drive-Up Costs for MA Ratepayers
LYMAN, NH – The Windaction Group encourages Massachusetts lawmakers to retain the existing “price cap” provision for offshore wind procurement. The price cap provides critical price protection for Massachusetts ratepayers given the enormous costs already imposed on ratepayers from existing renewable energy policies. In the 5 years from 2015 to 2019, Massachusetts ratepayers were billed over $4 billion in above market energy costs to support state-mandated renewable energy policies. Much of this higher cost has been shielded by persistently low natural gas prices, but this is changing quickly as the US enters a period of higher priced energy. Residential electricity prices in the Commonwealth are one of the highest in the country. By removing the price cap, state lawmakers all but ensure residents will pay even higher rates.
“Lawmakers insist that the price cap has constrained offshore wind developers from pricing-in economic development projects into their bids,” said Lisa Linowes, executive director of the Windaction Group. Using costly energy policy to fund economic growth is exactly the wrong thing to do, she warned. “Higher energy prices invariably suppress growth.”
According to Linowes these higher prices are not likely to be offset by other benefits. The offshore wind sector is capital intensive and has not realized the promised job growth. “Consider Scotland,” she said, “with 4,500 MW of installed offshore wind capacity, government estimates show just 1500 employed in the offshore sector when 28,000 jobs were promised 10 years ago.” (‘Green revolution 'failure' as ministers deliver just one in 20 of promised Scots windfarm jobs’ Herald Scotland, February 27, 2022)
Substantial uncertainty surrounds Massachusetts’ hopes for building offshore wind. Several federal lawsuits are pending against Vineyard Wind citing environment impacts to the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale and risks to commercial fishing. This is not the time to relax protections in order to advance a reckless ideological push to be first among other states no matter what the costs..............
The full piece can be read at:
https://www.windaction.org/posts/53243-windaction-group-opposes-mas...
You need to be a member of Citizens' Task Force on Wind Power - Maine to add comments!
Join Citizens' Task Force on Wind Power - Maine