In April the ‘big three’ Massachusetts utilities of National Grid, Eversource and Unitel, submitted, for approval by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPUC), their proposed timetable for the solicitation and execution of long-term contracts for Offshore Wind Energy Generation.
On Wednesday 21 June DPUC approved, with minor alterations, that initial proposal. The most significant of the changes is that, in response to comments from the developers, DPUC reduced the RFP assessment process by 93 days in order to allow “developers to secure (Federal) ITC benefits and pass them on to consumers in the form of lower bids“.
Two components in the overall process were shortened: Proposal Assessment/Selection of Projects for Negotiation (by 29 days) and Negotiate and Execute Contracts (by 64 days). The final timeline;
Alternatively the DPUC’s detailed comments can be downloaded from the MassCEC website.