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Massachusetts

Updated July 2010

Contacts:

Greg Watson (Senior Advisor for Clean Energy Technology, MA Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs): Greg.Watson@state.ma.us

Deerin Babb-Brott (Assistant Secretary for Oceans, MA Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs): Deerin.babb-brott@state.ma.us

Nils Bolgen (Massachusetts Clean Energy Center): bolgen@masstech.org

Overview of Status:

Cape Wind, the first offshore wind farm proposed for US waters, just received federal approval in April 2010 after nine years of deliberation and permitting. The town of Hull has proposed a small (four turbine) offshore wind farm near its coast. The Massachusetts Ocean Management Plan, published in 2009, identifies two areas in Massachusetts state waters for utility scale offshore wind development.

Proposed Projects:

Cape Wind: 130 of Siemens' 3.6 MW turbines in Nantucket Sound

At the end of April 2010, the MMS (now BOEMRE) gave its final approval for the Cape Wind project. A news article covering Secretary Salazar's announcement is available here. As of June 2010, Cape Wind is deciding on a marine contractor for the wind farm construction. The Cape Wind developer chose Siemens 3.6 MW turbines for the project.

The Final Environmental Impact Report and Development of Regional Impact (FEIR/DRI), as submitted by Cape Wind on February 15, 2007, is available here. On March 29, 2007, EEA Secretary Ian Bowles granted Cape Wind a Certificate of Environmental Impact and Public Interest, giving state approval to the project.

Hull Offshore Wind Farm: 4 turbines, 12-20 MW total capacity

As of July 2010, the fate of the Hull offshore wind project is uncertain. A news article published in May cited concerns about escalating cost projections.

The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) provided $1.7 million in a forgivable pre-development loan to the Town of Hull Municipal Light Plant (HMLP) to do preliminary environmental and engineering studies for a four turbine wind farm approximately 1.5 miles from shore.

Hull submitted an Environmental Notification Form (ENF), and EEA Secretary Ian Bowles issued a Scope for a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR).  Technical analysis is on-going.

Policy and Regulation:

In July 2010 Governor Patrick of Massachusetts and Governor Carcieri of Rhode Island signed a MOU regarding future offshore wind development in waters close to the state boundary. Any proposed wind farms in the roughly 20 mile by 20 mile area designated in the MOU would have to receive approval from both states, and state economic benefits would be shared. Click here for a news article about the MOU.

Massachusetts was one of ten East Coast states to join the Atlantic Offshore Wind Energy Consortium in June 2010. A DOI press release covering the signing of the official MOU is available here.

In May 2008 Governor Deval Patrick approved the Massachusetts Ocean Management Act which required the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) to "develop a comprehensive ocean management plan". The final Massachusetts Ocean Management Plan, released in December 2009, identifies two areas in Massachusetts state waters for potential utility scale alternative energy development.

Prior to development of the Ocean Management Plan, a Massachusetts Ocean Management Task Force was formed to investigate broad issues involved in the state's coastal and marine planning. The Task Force released a final report titled Waves of Change.

Governor Patrick signed the Green Communities Act (full text of the act here, press release here) into law in July 2008. This act promotes alternative energy by requiring utility companies to enter into 10 to 15 year power purchase agreements with alternative energy developers. It also increases the state RES by 1% per year with no cap (15% by 2020, 25% by 2030, etc), provides incentives for increasing energy efficiency, and officially enters Massachusetts into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) cap-and-trade program.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (previously Minerals Management Service) has a Massachusetts Task Force to oversee implementation of federal regulation in wind projects off the Massachusetts coast.

Studies, Research and Development:

Massachusetts won a $2 million federal grant to build a wind turbine blade test facility (Massachusetts-NREL Wind Technology Test Center, WTTC) in Charlestown. In terms of blade transport, the facility will be readily accessible by deep-water port and interstate highways. The test facility also received an additional $25 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It will be able to test blades up to 90 meters long. The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative provides a description of the facility and its capabilities here.

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center commissioned two studies: Strategic Options for Investment in Transmission in Support of Offshore Wind Development in Massachusetts and a Port and Infrastructure Analysis for Offshore Wind Energy Development (completed but not yet publicly available).

The University of Massachusetts Wind Energy Center won a $243,000 grant from DOE's 20% Wind by 2030 program to develop a graduate level course in Offshore Wind Energy Systems Engineering.

In 2009 the University of Massachusetts Wind Energy Center and the Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium received a $10,000 National Science Foundation planning grant "to pursue a multi-year effort to build an industry-university consortium (I/UCRC) focused on key issues in wind technology."

The Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust was previously administered by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, but a recent restructuring initiative put the trust under control of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC).