Here's what New Bedford's mayor has to say about bids for a tri-state offshore wind plan.
NEW BEDFORD – Three offshore wind energy developers submitted bids last week for a tri-state offshore wind lease auction and each one will benefit New Bedford economically, according to Mayor Jon Mitchell.
The March 27 letter to Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources Commissioner Elizabeth Mahony, elected officials and the three offshore wind developers, praises the RFP process that assigns credits for bids that benefit "economically distressed" areas.
In August, Mitchell and business leaders from Greater New Bedford sent a letter to offshore wind developers who had expressed an interest in bidding for wind energy contacts and described for them the types of investments they believe would best support the wind industry in the state.
He said if the established request for proposal’s preference for “economically distressed areas” is to mean anything, investments in regions outside of Greater Boston should receive additional credit, referring to the scoring system for bids by which projects are graded.
“As we discussed in the (August) letter to the developers, meaningful long-term investments that support the formation of an industry cluster should be accorded more weight than smaller commitments to fund regional nonprofit programs, which tend to yield less long-term economic impact,” he wrote last week.
With Massachusetts part of a tri-state agreement with Rhode Island and Connecticut for offshore wind energy procurement, Mitchell wrote that Massachusetts should be mindful of the economic impact.
Catch up on what's going on: Avangrid and Vineyard Offshore submit bids for tri-state offshore wind auction
Assessing the new approach
Mitchell wrote that these bids will be the first to be evaluated since the state's comprehensive clean energy bill, An Act Driving Clean Energy and Offshore Wind, was signed into law in 2022.
He cites the transfer of responsibility for evaluating the bids from the state’s utilities to the DER as a change that will result in greater transparency with the process.
He also cites as a positive change a greater focus on the economic benefits when evaluating the bids so that Massachusetts can compete more effectively for industry investment.
Why the focus on economic development
He wrote that one of the economic development goals that needs to be met is to help establish a lasting offshore wind cluster based in historically economically distressed areas.
“We in New Bedford have strived to become America’s leader in offshore wind, just as we are in commercial fishing,” he wrote. “We believe that the development of a robust maritime cluster here will lead to the types of economic opportunities for Greater New Bedford’s residents that other regions have long enjoyed.”
About those economic development investments
Southcoast Wind, Avangrid and Vineyard Offshore all submitted bids for offshore wind projects based in Massachusetts by Wednesday’s deadline.
Mitchell wrote that while each of the developers have made commitments to nonprofit organizations across the state, the developers have not disclosed the full amounts of their cash commitments to support economic development programs.
He believes that Massachusetts should award the three developers a slice of the pie, a slice big enough so that each of them fully executes on their plans for New Bedford as outlined in the bids.
Standard-Times staff writer Kathryn Gallerani can be reached at kgallerani@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @kgallreporter. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Standard-Times today.
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Utilities no longer evaluate offshore wind bids due to new legislation
