New England leaders hold private clean energy talks as Massachusetts pursues more offshore wind

High elected leaders from the northeastern components of Canada and the US urged their colleagues Tuesday morning to embrace renewable power initiatives simply as Massachusetts is trying to spearhead a brand new spherical of offshore wind power procurements and not using a key participant.

On the outset of a regional convention hosted in Boston, Gov. Maura Healey touted agreements by Rhode Island and Massachusetts to buy practically 2,900 megawatts of offshore wind energy from a trio of proposed farms, an effort that would want buy-in from Connecticut to proceed.

Healey mentioned the procurements have been a “historic joint solicitation” with the potential to create sufficient wind-generated electrical energy to energy 1.6 million properties, or about 20% of Massachusetts’ energy wants.

“I believe that for the most intractable, or seemingly intractable problems, that we face today, we’re only going to accomplish and find solutions through teamwork, through working together. Each of us has something to bring to the table. Each of us has something to give here,” she mentioned.

An announcement from Healey final week that Massachusetts and Rhode Island would forge forward in securing hundreds of latest megawatts of offshore wind energy got here as leaders from Connecticut have been largely silent on the difficulty aside from to say they have been nonetheless reviewing bids.

Officers within the Nutmeg State had initially labored on the contracts for the offshore wind procurements with Massachusetts and Rhode Island however didn’t announce an power purchase alongside the Bay State and Ocean State.

Healey final week mentioned she didn’t know what Connecticut—which is grappling with rising electrical energy prices—deliberate to do.

“My hope is they buy in at some point,” she mentioned.

She could get an opportunity this week to strain Connecticut on the difficulty with Gov. Ned Lamont current on the convention.

Healey, different governors, and Canadian premiers have been anticipated to take questions from reporters at 1:30 p.m.

Healey supplied opening remarks in the beginning of the New England Governors and Japanese Canadian Premiers Convention, which this yr is concentrated on clear power expertise like offshore wind and occurred at Boston College.

The Democrat has made the push to extend Massachusetts’ reliance on and fostering of local weather expertise a center-point of her first-term in workplace. She has advocated for state lawmakers to extend investments into the sector—an effort that’s at present in limbo—and efficiently competed for federal funds to spice up infrastructure.

Healey mentioned a roundtable dialogue Tuesday morning would middle on “our shared commitment to clean energy technologies.”

“We’re going to focus on harnessing the power of one of our greatest sustainable shared resources, and that is offshore wind. We’re also going to have an important conversation about how we decarbonize our economy as we grow,” she mentioned.

Andrew Furey, the premier of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, mentioned the northeast area is “integrated” and selections made by one state or province affect the lives of residents in others.

Furey mentioned the demand for “bold action” on renewable energylocal weather resilience, and cross-border participation is “more urgent than ever before.”

“The actions we take individually and collectively will most certainly shape the future of our region for generations to come. This is a significant weight for everybody at this table, but one I know everybody owns and takes full responsibility of,” he mentioned.

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