Another Delay Leaves Massachusetts Offshore Power Contracts A Year Behind Schedule

With a key date being once again postponed on Monday, the state's ongoing attempt to procure more offshore wind power is now running nearly a full year behind schedule.

Massachusetts selected 2,678 megawatts of offshore wind power spread across three projects in September, kicking off contract negotiations. One of those projects has since removed itself from consideration and another has flagged the potential for a four-year delay. Massachusetts gets no meaningful energy from offshore wind, almost nine years after a clean energy law set the state on a path of decarbonization.

The evaluation team negotiating contracts with those projects informed the Department of Public Utilities in a letter Monday that it will not meet the March 31 target for finishing contract talks, or the June 30 target date for contract filings. The evaluation team includes the Department of Energy Resources, National Grid, Eversource, and Unitil.

Instead, the evaluation team is "now targeting the completion of negotiations and execution of contracts on or before June 30, 2025" and is aiming to have the contracts filed with the DPU "on or before August 25, 2025," the letter said. Those projects are also widely expected to cost ratepayers more than previous projects, but price information is withheld from the public until contracts are filed for Department of Public Utilities approval.

When the state's latest offshore wind solicitation was published in August 2023, it contemplated bids being due in January 2024, projects being selected in June 2024, contracts being executed in August 2024, and contracts being filed with DPU by Sept. 18, 2024. Now, under the latest timeline revision, contracts are due to DPU 341 days later, by Aug. 25, 2025.

"The utilities and developers continue their hard work to negotiate and memorialize the bids in binding contracts. Federal policy is an important factor in these projects and the parties are working to gain greater certainty before finalizing the contracts," DOER spokesperson Lauren Diggin said. "The Healey-Driscoll Administration is committed to embracing a diverse energy supply including offshore wind. Offshore wind is produced right here in Massachusetts and will help lower costs, make us more resilient, and create thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic benefits for Massachusetts."

Roughly two hours before officials announced the latest delay to the contract execution date, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper said the Healey administration would "continue to support and do what we can to support" offshore wind despite opposition from President Donald Trump.

"There is no doubt that the Trump administration has been some headwinds for the offshore wind industry. I continue to believe that there will be this industry off the coast. I think it's important for energy independence, it's important for our clean energy goals, and it's important for jobs and workforce development," Tepper told lawmakers at a hearing about Gov. Maura Healey's fiscal 2026 budget. "So having a new industry being built here, off our shores, is a real opportunity. If you look at what other countries are doing, they're building a lot more in China. Everybody knows that this is a really important asset that you don't want to say no to."

An executive order Trump signed in January essentially halted all federal offshore wind actions "pending the completion of a comprehensive federal review of federal wind leasing and permitting practices."

Elected officials in Massachusetts are relying on the development of new clean power infrastructure to help achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, a requirement codified into state law.

Massachusetts faces interim targets along the path to 2050 under the law. By 2030, the state must reduce greenhouse gas emissions 50 percent below 1990 levels.

In 2021, the most recent year with data available, state officials reported they had reduced emissions 28 percent below 1990 levels.

Republican Sen. Ryan Fattman asked Tepper during the Monday budget hearing if the state is on track to meet the 2030 emissions target.

"There is no doubt that the Trump administration has made it more difficult to meet the requirements, specifically on the generation side," Tepper replied. "We had planned on having a significant amount of clean energy by 2030 from offshore wind. So that's going to be a big headwind if that doesn't happen."

Another Republican, Sen. Kelly Dooner, later asked what would happen if Massachusetts failed to meet any of the mandated interim targets.

"We're going to continue to work with the Legislature and attempt to do everything we can to meet those emission requirements," Tepper said. "If there are issues that need to be addressed, I'm sure we all can work together to address them."