First-in-the-Nation Partnership with Municipal Light Plants to Help Massachusetts Communities Go Green
PART OF THE COMMONWEALTH WIND PROPOSAL, AGREEMENT WOULD ALLOW MLPS TO ACQUIRE LOCALLY GENERATED WIND POWER
(BOSTON, MA) – Vineyard Wind, a joint venture between Avangrid Renewables, a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), today announced that the company’s recent “Commonwealth Wind” proposal includes a first of its kind partnership with Energy New England (ENE) that will allow Municipal Light Plants (MLPs) to purchase offshore wind power, an opportunity that will green the portfolios of MLPs across the state.
Under the agreement, MLPs would be able to purchase up to 146,000 MWh per year in addition to Renewable Energy Credits (RECs), reducing carbon pollution by 300,000-400,000 tons over the lifetime of the contract. This agreement will enable the MLPs, which currently provide 15% of the state’s energy baseload, to make meaningful progress toward meeting renewable energy targets, as required under Massachusetts’ new climate law.
“Massachusetts MLPs have set targets to increase the share of clean energy in their portfolio, and with this partnership in place we can help them take meaningful steps toward this goal” said Vineyard Wind CEO Lars Pedersen. “We are proud to partner with ENE to ensure that communities across the state can buy power from the Commonwealth Wind Project and we hope to be able to expand on creative solutions for communities utilizing offshore wind going forward.”
“This agreement demonstrates that offshore wind can and will deliver the benefits of clean electricity to all of Massachusetts,” said Bill White, President and CEO of Offshore, Avangrid Renewables. “This partnership is an important step forward in our work to green the Commonwealth’s energy mix and to make clean energy accessible to all.”
“This is a significant partnership between Vineyard Wind and ENE with its MLP clients, one that signifies the commitment that all the relevant parties have to the Commonwealth’s clean energy goals,” said John G. Tzimorangas, President and CEO of Energy New England. “The willingness of the MLPs to participate in this proposal and to continue their commitment to reducing emissions, as they have been doing, adds to their non-emitting portfolios. Working with the Vineyard Wind team, we’ve created a proposal that truly benefits the entire Commonwealth, bringing together private and public entities in an effort to provide the best proposal to Massachusetts in their latest solicitation for off-shore wind power.”
Implementation of the plan is contingent on Commonwealth Wind being selected by the state in the most recent round of solicitation for offshore wind energy. Commonwealth Wind is a newly proposed offshore wind project submitted to Massachusetts’ third competitive offshore wind solicitation. If awarded, Commonwealth Wind will be developed in an area 22 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard that was designated by the federal government in 2015 following a multi-year stakeholder process. Commonwealth Wind can deliver up to 1,200 MW of clean and affordable energy to Massachusetts, power 750,000 homes in Massachusetts, create over 11,000 jobs (FTE), catalyze hundreds of millions of investments in offshore wind infrastructure, and deliver substantial commitments to environmental justice communities.
“As Chairman of the ENE Board and GM of Braintree Electric I am excited to be part of the Vineyard Wind proposal to build a significant offshore wind project that will continue to increase the renewable power portfolio of the State Municipal Utilities,’ said Bill Bottiggi, Chairman of the ENE Board of Directors and General Manager of Braintree Electric. “This project if successful with continue to advance our plans to reach net zero greenhouse gases by 2050.”
“As public power utilities continue to add non-emitting resources to their portfolios, it’s critical that they are able to join in on joint ventures such as the Vineyard Wind project,” said American Public Power Association President & CEO Joy Ditto. “This innovative partnership will enable the region’s not-for-profit, community-owned public power utilities to achieve local climate change goals as well as more diverse power generation portfolios.”
The 20 Massachusetts Municipal Light Plants able to participate in the Commonwealth Wind project, if successful include: Belmont Municipal Light Department, Braintree Electric Light Department, Chester Municipal Electric Light Department, Concord Municipal Light Plant, Danvers Electric Division, Georgetown Municipal Light Department, Groveland Municipal Light Department, Hingham Municipal Lighting Plant, Littleton Electric Light & Water Departments, Mass Development/Devens Utility, Merrimac Municipal Light Department, Middleborough Gas & Electric Department, Middleton Municipal Electric Department, North Attleborough Electric Department, Norwood Municipal Light Department, Reading Municipal Light Department, Rowley Municipal Lighting Plant, Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant, Wellesley Municipal Light Plant, Westfield Gas & Electric Light Department.
###
About Vineyard Wind
Vineyard Wind LLC is an offshore wind development company that will build the first commercial-scale offshore wind energy project in the U.S., to be located 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. Vineyard Wind, based in New Bedford, Massachusetts, is 50 percent owned by funds of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and 50 percent by Avangrid Renewables, a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR). For more information, visit www.vineyardwind.com.
ABOUT ENERGY NEW ENGLAND (ENE)
ENE is the largest wholesale risk management and energy trading organization serving the needs of municipal utilities in the northeast. ENE works with numerous businesses, residents and utilities to help promote the principles of conservation, efficiency, and environmental stewardship, and advances the many benefits available through integrated sustainability planning. www.ene.org
