U.S. draws closer to first offshore wind farms

The Massachusetts Legislature has overwhelmingly passed a new energy bill that includes the nation's biggest commitment to offshore wind energy, requiring utilities to procure a combined 1,600 megawatts of electricity from offshore wind farms in a little over 10 years.

The legislation, passed last week, is currently awaiting signature by Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, who is expected to sign it. It comes at a time when the offshore wind industry is still ramping up in the United States. Although multiple projects have been proposed up and down the East Coast, there are no working turbines in the water yet. With the bill's passage, that will soon change.

In Rhode Island, wind energy development company Deepwater Wind is preparing to enter the final stages of construction -- as early as next week -- on a 30-megawatt offshore wind farm. While relatively small in scale, the project would be the first of its kind to function in U.S. waters.

Deepwater also has interests in the state of New York, where it has proposed a 90-megawatt, 15-turbine wind farm off the coast of Long Island. Originally, the Long Island Power Authority was scheduled to approve the project July 20. But it delayed the vote at the request of the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority, which asked to hold off until the release of a comprehensive master plan for the state's offshore wind development. Environmental groups are urging officials to move forward with the approval process as soon as possible.

In the meantime, New York's Public Service Commission voted Monday to approve the state's Clean Energy Standard. That plan would require 50 percent of New York's electricity to come from renewable sources, such as wind and solar, by the year 2030. The Deepwater project, once approved, would be a critical component of achieving that goal.

In Massachusetts' case, the mandated renewable energy doesn't have to come from the state itself. While several projects have been proposed in Massachusetts waters, none have launched yet. The most well-known of these is the Cape Wind project, a proposed installation of 130 turbines with a combined capacity of 468 megawatts. The project has been involved in multiple permitting struggles and other financing and legal snafus since its inception more than a decade ago.

Aside from the Cape Wind project, several other wind development companies hold leases in Massachusetts waters, including Deepwater Wind, Denmark-based DONG Energy and OffshoreMW, headquartered in Germany.

In terms of the new bill's wind requirements, though, individual companies must solicit bids for proposals with a capacity of at least 400 megawatts each. The goal is a combined 1,600 megawatts in long-term contracts by June 2027.

The bill has been hailed by renewable energy advocates and wind developers as a major step forward for both clean energy in Massachusetts and in the country as a whole.

A Section on 08/09/2016

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