Wind power in Massachusetts


The U.S. state of Massachusetts has vast wind energy resources offshore as well as significant resources onshore. The 2016 update to the Clean Energy and Climate Plan had a goal of reducing 1990 baseline greenhouse gas emissions levels by 25% by 2020. Current goals include installing 3,500 MW of offshore wind power in the state by 2035. However as Q1 2020 the state had had only 119 megawatts of wind powered electricity generating capacity, responsible for generating 0.9% of in-state electricity production, with no new turbines under construction. The state has awarded contracts to two offshore projects, the 800 MW Vineyard Wind project and 804 MW Mayflower Wind project, which are still awaiting final federal regulatory approval as of April 2020.

Notable projects

Installed in 2005, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 100 kW wind turbine along I93 south of Boston drew attention to wind power to tens of thousands of commuters. In 2009, a similar wind turbine was installed along I93 north of Boston, in Medford, expected to generate 170,000 kWh/year.
A GE Wind Energy 1.5 MW turbine was the first wind turbine to be installed at a ski resort in the United States of America at Jiminy Peak in Hancock, MA. The turbine, installed in 2007, is visible from many of the slopes on the mountain and it produces 4,600 MWh annually, about one third of the facilities electricity demands.
At the Joint Base Cape Cod three turbines generate power for the base and construction is underway for two additional 1.68 MW turbines to power the radar unit. The three, soon to be five, turbines are highly visible from both the Bourne Bridge and the Sagamore Bridge looking to the East. The turbines have resulted in significant savings for the base, the turbines also do not generate any controversy because they are located well within the base boundaries far from civilian homes.
In June of 2017, the Massachusetts courts shut down two town-owned 1.65-megawatt wind turbines in Falmouth, Massachusetts. Each turbine generates up to 110 decibels of noise requiring almost 3000-foot setback. The decibel level for two wind turbines operating at the same time is unknown. Massachusetts has twenty-one communities with noise and shadow flicker health issues. The neighbors describe the noise as torture.
The Town of Falmouth in November of 2019 approved 2.5 million to disassemble and store the wind turbines. The turbines were designed in the late 1990s and have the original gearboxes and blades.
Falmouth wind turbines reference: https://www.capenews.net/falmouth/news/falmouth-town-meeting-approves-funding-to-dismantle-town-s-turbines/article_1193cbe5-8c93-5422-bbe4-ddd68809ae2e.html
At about 450 MW, the offshore wind farm Cape Wind was the largest wind project under review in the state. It would have provided enough electricity to power nearly 420,000 homes using 130 wind turbines, but was cancelled in 2017 after local opposition.
On August 8, 2016 the Massachusetts governor signed Bill H.4568 which mandates that Massachusetts utilities obtain 1.6 GW of offshore wind power by 2027. Policy also mandated that utilities acquire 1.2 GW of power from other renewable sources, including onshore wind. The 1 GW Bay State Wind is one of several planned offshore sites.
On December 14, 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management opened bids for leases on three parcels, each 13,000 acres, located in federal waters south of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. The three tentative winners, subject to final negotiations, were:
The auction raised a total of $405 million. The three areas could support 4.1 gigawatts of wind nameplate power, according to BOEM estimates.
In April 2019, Vineyard Wind was awarded a contract to supply 800 MW of power to Massachusetts utilities at a price of 8.9 cents/kWh and will also spend $15 million on battery systems for energy storage. They plan to install 84 turbines, with their power line running between the Vineyard and Nantucket to Covell Beach in Centerville, and from there via land to the grid.
Massachusetts utilities Eversource, National Grid and Unitil are seeking proposals from offshore wind developers by August 9, 2019 for 15 to 20 years of at least 400 megawatts of offshore wind power.

Current state support

The state has implemented policy and infrastructure to support efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These policies and infrastructure are partially focused on promoting on- and off-shore wind power.

Policy

Green Communities Act : created a commission to provide technical and financial support to reduce energy costs, strengthen local economies, and support renewable energy efforts.
Green Jobs Act : created the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, which is a state authority designated for “job development and economic development in the clean energy sector.” The Act created the Alternative and Clean Energy Investment Trust Fund to further this economic development.
Global Warming Solutions Act : requires reduction in 1990 greenhouse gas emission levels to 25% by 2020, and at least an 80% reduction by 2050. Policy information and figures depicting state progress can be viewed on the Mass.gov website.

New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal

The New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal is the first hub in the country designed for the deployment of offshore wind farms. The terminal is managed by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center which supports the fabrication and implementation of offshore wind projects and the transportation of large scale marine cargo. The Terminal contains 26 acres of storage space that can be used by businesses and to aid shipping and transportation. It has access roads to two highways, I-495 and I-95, and is accessible from other ports.

Wind Technology Testing Center (WTTC)

The Massachusetts Wind Technology Testing Center in Charlestown is managed by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. The center offers testing for blades up to 90 meters long and different prototyping methods in order to support the production and installation of land and offshore wind turbines. The blade testing is required for turbines to meet international qualifications and to be certified for use.

Charlie Baker administration (2015–Present)

In July 2015, the administration of Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced that Baker filed legislation to require the state to procure 1,600 megawatts of offshore wind power, as well as 1,200 megawatts of hydropower. In March 2016, the legislation received the endorsement of all three of the Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretaries of the Deval Patrick administration, and the following August, Baker signed the legislation into law. In September 2016, Baker's administration announced that the offshore wind companies Deepwater Wind, DONG Energy, and OffshoreMW agreed to use the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal built during the Patrick administration as a staging area for their projects. In June 2017, Massachusetts utilities issued the first RFP under the energy diversification law signed by Baker in August 2016, and the following month, five major bids were submitted.
In May 2018, Baker's administration selected Vineyard Wind to construct an 800-megawatt offshore wind farm off the southern coast of Martha's Vineyard, and the following October, Vineyard Wind announced that it had signed an 18-month lease to also conduct their staging operations at the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal. In December 2018, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced the sale of three wind lease plots of 390,000 acres of ocean south of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard to Equinor Wind, Mayflower Wind Energy, and Vineyard Wind for a national record of $405 million that the agency estimated could generate as much as 4,100 megawatts of wind power.

Capacity

Installed

The following table shows the growth in wind power installed nameplate capacity in MW for Massachusetts since 2000.
YearAmountChange% Change
200000-
200111-
200643300%
20075125%
20086120%
2009159150%
201018320%
20114729161%
201210356119%
201310633%
201410711%
201510700%
201611587%
201711500%
2018113-2-2%
20191207

Potential

In early 2010, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory released the first comprehensive update of wind energy potential by state since 1993, showing that Massachusetts had potential to install 1,028 MW of onshore wind power, using 80 meter high wind turbines, and 1,913 MW of 100 MW wind turbines could achieve 30% or better capacity factor - and of those, almost 500 MW could reach a capacity factor of 40%.

Locations

In 2009, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources contracted Navigant Consulting to determine new locations of potential wind turbine sites throughout the state. The study identified 44 locations with 947 MW of potential power. The locations are centrally focused in the Berkshire and Barnstable counties. The Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs has this information publicly available with a Wind Energy Site Screening Tool.

Government Policy

The Massachusetts state government regulatory actions and financial incentives in the energy sector extend to wind energy policy. In May 2017, the Offshore Wind Incentives for New Development Act or the Offshore WIND Act was introduced in the Senate. The bill proposes to add a tax credit for investments in property with “qualified offshore wind properties.” According to Congressional terminology, facilities are determined qualified if they use wind power to produce electricity and located in United States navigable waters. In order to obtain the tax credit, wind property construction would need to occur before January 1, 2026. As of October 2017, the Bill has not been passed.