Massachusetts preps for RE prize

Source: By Renewable Energy News • Posted: Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Massachusetts will select the winners of a renewable energy call this week, with the mayor of New Bedford urging officials to approve Deepwater Wind’s offshore wind-battery storage project.

The Revolution Wind scheme will generate $250m in economic benefits and create hundreds of construction jobs, Jon Mitchell said in a letter to regulators.

“Deepwater Wind’s commitment to use the Port of New Bedford for assembly and deployment of Revolution Wind’s towers and turbines, as well as ongoing operations and maintenance activities, will have a significant impact on the city of New Bedford and the entire region,” said Mitchell.

Deepwater bid a 144MW offshore project paired with a 10MW Tesla battery system to the all-renewables request for proposals. It also pitched a larger 288MW version and a smaller 96MW option.

The Revolution hybrid is up against onshore wind, solar and hydroelectric projects.

If approved, Deepwater plans to start construction in 2022 and bring the project online by the end of 2023.

Massachusetts will announce the winners on 25 January, with a separate call for offshore wind to be awarded in April.

Deepwater bid into the offshore program as well, as did Orsted and a Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners-Avangrid joint venture.