State Chooses Hydro, Not New Bedford Wind, for First Energy Contract
BOSTON - A proposal for a New Bedford-based offshore wind farm has been rejected by the state.
Governor Charlie Baker's administration announced Thursday that the first of two contracts for large-scale alternative energy production projects has been awarded to Northern Pass Hydro, a hydro-electric endeavor by Eversource and Hydro-Quebec of Canada. Northern Pass Hydro received 46 bids, and is expected to provide about 9.5 million megawatt-hours of clean energy a year.
The bidding process was created by the state's 2016 energy diversity law.
Deepwater Wind's proposal for the New Bedford-based offshore wind farm remains in the running for the second contract, which is specific to offshore wind and only has three current bidders. All of the proposals have pledged to use the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal as a staging area as turbines will be located off of Martha's Vineyard.