Massachusetts Offshore Wind Power Purchase Agreements
A PPA, or Power Purchase Agreement, in Massachusetts, is a long-term contract between an offshore wind energy developer and an energy purchaser such as Eversource. The wind developer constructs, owns, and operates the wind project, supplying electricity at a contracted, fixed price, typically lower than that of traditional utilities.
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GE Vernova and Vineyard Wind are in a major dispute following the July 2024 failure of a GE turbine blade, which scattered debris off Nantucket. The dispute involves 850 million. According to news media reporting, Vineyard Wind faces a risk of failure if GE leaves.
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Massachusetts has a history of allowing offshore wind companies to back out of or terminate Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities allowed SouthCoast Wind and Commonwealth Wind to pay a fine and back out of power purchase agreements. The purpose was to allow offshore wind companies out of signed contracts so they could rebid later at a higher price.
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Massachusetts has a legally binding requirement to reach a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels by 2030.
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A Massachusetts judge recently prevented GE Vernova from leaving the Vineyard Wind project.
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Massachusetts' historical approach is to accept the termination of "unviable PPA agreements," which are power purchase agreements that are no longer feasible or practical. The result allows renegotiation of better contracts, rather than forcing a wind company to proceed under conditions that would cause it to fail.
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Vineyard Wind claims over $800 million in damages from construction delays, while GE says it is owed $300 million in unpaid work.
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Some states have robust protections for electric ratepayers, but could face scenarios in which wind developers could say they may have to abandon projects unless they have new power purchase agreements. This would be a potential financial risk for electric consumers.
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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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