Massachusetts regulators are considering whether to re-open an all-renewables call for power.
The 1.09GW Northern Pass hydro-transmission project won the request for proposals solicitation in January, beating 45 other proposals including Deepwater Wind’s 144MW offshore wind farm paired with a 10MW Tesla battery system.
However New Hampshire regulators this month rejected Eversource Energy’s proposal to import power from Hydro-Quebec. The utility may appeal the decision.
Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources commissioner Judith Judson has directed the state utilities to find out if Northern Pass can still go ahead and fulfill power deliveries by the end of 2020.
“Time is of the essence in this process,” said Judson.
“It is incumbent upon the electric distributions companies to review the project’s response, assess it against the original bid to evaluate its impacts, and quickly come to a joint decision on appropriate next steps, which could include moving forward with contract negotiations or, alternatively, terminating negotiations and returning to bid selection,” she added.
Government officials plan to meet with the utilities and the independent bid evaluator by 9 February to discuss the options.
Image: Pixabay
Mass mulls RFP re-run
By EBS