Massachusetts Offshore Wind Gamble In Legal Limbo
In August 2023, Massachusetts offshore wind contractors agreed to pay all three state utility companies 60 million to terminate their original power purchase agreements negotiated in 2022. The power companies are Eversource, National Grid, and Unitil.
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To be clear, the offshore wind companies signed power purchase agreements in 2022. The offshore wind companies gambled that they could cancel their contracts and make more money in the future.
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Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut in October 2023 announced a first in the country tri-state offshore wind agreement. Governor Maura Healey said, “By working together, we can amplify the many benefits of offshore wind for all three states, including regional economic development opportunities, healthier communities, lower energy bills, and advantages to environmental justice populations and low-income ratepayers.”
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In September 2024, Connecticut dropped out of the tri-state agreement due to potentially high electric rates.
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Rhode Island is scheduled to end its energy contracts by November 1, 2025, if they cannot be resolved.
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While Rhode Island set November 1 as the final contract date, Massachusetts has set a new date of December 31, 2025. Odds are, Rhode Island drops out of the former tri-state agreement.
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The original energy contract started in Massachusetts in 2022, and the contract was cancelled in August 2023. A new tri-state request for proposal, RFP, was issued in October 2023 and then extended multiple times, 4x, with the latest in December 2025.
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Recently, offshore wind joined a lawsuit against President Trump's executive order with 17 state attorneys general, with an upcoming hearing in September 2025. Some of these offshore wind companies canceled power purchase agreements in 2023, hoping to renegotiate contracts to make more money. The gamble may have resulted in a 600 million loss.
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The seventeen states argue that the Trump offshore wind Executive Order, EO, is illegal because it falls under the Administrative Procedure Act, APA. The states contend that the APA requires public comment and publication.
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The next ruling in the case is scheduled for September 2025. If the states win, the judge will likely decide that Trump must follow the APA.
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Views: 27
Comment
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Comment by Willem Post 11 minutes ago
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Needs to be widely distributed
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Great post, Frank
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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