Massachusetts Offshore Wind Greed Before Need

Massachusetts climate action puts the need for offshore wind before electric ratepayers

 
Offshore wind is comprised of two parts. The commercial ocean wind turbines themselves and the ocean wind submarine cables are more expensive than the turbines. For example, the Block Island ocean wind project costs 330 million for 5 turbines, and the submarine cables are the bulk of the expense. The turbines are around 5 million each and 300 million for the cables.
 
On June 30th, 2022, the Massachusetts  Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs released the Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2025 and 2030. The 2025/2030 CECP represents the comprehensive plans to achieve aggressive emissions reduction in 2025 and 2030.
 
The 2025/2030 CECP may indeed not reduce reduced consumer costs and better quality of life for all residents. 
 
Several years ago a Boston-based ocean wind electric cable company proposed they run submarine cables from the Massachusetts ocean wind site 30 miles off the coast locations to Boston, Fall River, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The power simply goes directly to the oceanfront cities by submarine cable more likely to use the power. The only drawback is the wind companies awarded offshore construction sites have to pay the submarine cable owners lease payments forever. 
 
The offshore wind companies don't want to pay lease payments. They want an electric ratepayer to foot the bill by pushing the power over the old antiquated land infrastructure.
 
The offshore wind companies are getting around leasing by providing their own cable landings on Cape Cod in Barnstable and Falmouth. The power then is sent over the Cape Cod Canal to Boston but the electric grid to Boston and its suburbs are old and antiquated and needs updating. Currently, only 1200 megawatts can be sent over the Cape Cod bridge. 
 
Massachusetts' current goals include installing 3,500 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind power in the state by 2035. Allowing the ocean wind companies to make their own cable landings on Cape Cod to avoid leasing require major Grid upgrades off Cape in SouthEast Massachusetts to Boston and the suburbs. 
 
The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities allows each electric company to recover the costs of eligible pre-authorized grid modernization investments within the budget cap through a grid modernization factor (GMF). The 3 electric companies in Massachusetts must file a grid modernization annual report and performance data each year. Aka the electric ratepayer pays for grid modernization. 
 
So what does it all boil down to the offshore wind companies don't want to pay a lease on offshore submarine cables and want to own their own cable for example through the Town of Falmouth to the local power company substation in which case the electric ratepayers pay for the modernization of the grid from the substation in Falmouth to Boston. 
 
Going to Falmouth puts the burden on the Massachusetts electric ratepayers and rebuilding the grid does not allow enough time for the Climate Emergency plans
 
The Massachusetts legislature has to protect the citizens of Massachusetts by having the ocean wind companies lease the submarine cables to the cities that need the power through the ocean or have them run their own submarine cables. 
 
The ocean wind projects should not be done at the electric ratepayer's expense. 

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Comment by Thinklike A. Mountain on July 11, 2022 at 11:01pm

The revolt against green tyranny has toppled its first government, as farmers’ protests spread across Europe
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2022/07/the_revolt_against_gre...

 

Maine as Third World Country:

CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power

 

Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.

Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT

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(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/

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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law

Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future

"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."

https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/

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