Upcoming legislation in Massachusetts could trigger a $10-billion, two-gigawatt boom in the state’s offshore wind industry.
“The energy bill may be introduced as early as this month and is expected to require utilities to purchase power from offshore wind farms,” Bloomberg reports. “Still to be determined is how much power utilities would be forced to buy under the bill and, crucially, whether the state’s Republican governor—who has already opposed one offshore project—will sign it.”
- Concise headlines. Original content. Timely news and views from a select group of opinion leaders. Special extras.
- Everything you need, nothing you don’t.
- The Weekender: The climate news you need.
If it succeeds, “this bill would be the last piece of the puzzle to get the industry going,” said Thomas Brostrom, North American general manager for the world’s biggest offshore wind developer, Dong Energy A/S.
“We have the opportunity to create an industry,” Senator Mark Pacheco (D) told Bloomberg’s Joe Ryan. “We have the opportunity to create thousands of jobs and create a whole supply chain.”
Dong, one of three developers with offshore wind leases south of Martha’s Vineyard, has opened an office in Boston and is searching for additional development sites along the U.S. east coast. (h/t to Climate Nexus for first pointing us to this story)
