Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut receive proposals for offshore wind projects

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut received proposals Wednesday for offshore wind projects as the three East Coast states hope to boost their reliance on the renewable energy source.

The three states joined in a historic agreement that allows for potential coordinated selection of offshore wind projects.

Massachusetts received bids from Avangrid Renewables, South Coast Wind Energy and Vineyard Offshore in response to the region’s largest solicitation to date for offshore wind, seeking up to 3,600 megawatts.

Gov. Maura Healey’s administration “will review bids over the coming months, and coordinate with Connecticut and Rhode Island to evaluate multi-state projects that would increase benefits for the region, lower costs, and enhance project viability,” Massachusetts Energy Resources Commissioner Elizabeth Mahony said in a press release.

Rhode Island announced Wednesday that it will evaluate proposals from Avangrid Renewables, Orsted, SouthCoast Wind Energy and Vineyard Offshore. It had requested proposals for approximately 1,200 megawatts of power.

Rhode Island acting Energy Commissioner Chris Kearns said the state looks forward to “reviewing the proposals with Rhode Island Energy along with Massachusetts and Connecticut state energy offices over the next few months.”

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The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection also announced Wednesday that it received proposals from four project developers under the multistate request.

Connecticut is seeking up to 2,000 megawatts of new offshore wind, which would add to the 304 megawatts of offshore wind power it will receive from the Revolution Wind project, which was jointly selected by Connecticut and Rhode Island and is now under development.

“We look forward to evaluating the submitted proposals received under this RFP over the coming months and coordinating review of any multi-state proposals received with Massachusetts and Rhode Island,” DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said.

The agency expects to announce in the third quarter of 2024 whether any projects have been selected.

Vineyard Offshore submitted a proposal for a 1,200-megawatt offshore wind project to the three states in response to their solicitation for up to 6,800 megawatts of offshore wind capacity.

“Vineyard Offshore knows how to deliver offshore wind to New England, and that’s by earning the trust of the communities we work in,” Vineyard Offshore CEO Alicia Barton said.

Ørsted announced it has submitted a proposal for a 1,184-megawatt Starboard Wind project, which would power more than 600,000 homes in Rhode Island.

Avangrid, Inc. submitted multiple proposals to the Massachusetts-Connecticut-Rhode Island solicitation for offshore wind power including New England Wind, representing two projects – the 791-megawatt New England Wind 1 project and 1,080 megawatt New England Wind 2 project.