The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities has approved the power purchase agreements for the Commonwealth Wind and Mayflower offshore wind farms.
The decision comes despite concerns raised by both project developers over the financial viability of the sites under the current terms.
In a filing, the DPU said that “the pricing terms in the PPAs are reasonable for offshore wind energy generation resources”, and that the PPAs are in the public interest.
Avangrid, the company behind the 1200MW Commonwealth wind project, wanted its contract dismissed so that it could re-bid in Massachusetts’s fourth solicitation in April 2023.
It said that the 20-year PPA did “not meet the fundamental statutory threshold that they must ‘facilitate the financing of offshore wind energy generation'”.
The company had previously submitted evidence to the DPU showing that unprecedented global economic headwinds, such as high inflation, interest rates, and supply chain bottlenecks, mean that the current PPAs do not allow the company to secure the financing needed to construct the project, and thus the project cannot proceed under these contracts.
Avangrid has also said that it sees the best path for the project to advance is through the upcoming Massachusetts’ offshore wind solicitation.
In a separate statement filed late last year, Mayflower Wind said that it agreed with “much of the factual analysis underlying Commonwealth Wind’s conclusion, especially as Mayflower is subject to these same facts, pressures and realities”.
However, it did not make a motion to dismiss the proceedings on its 20-year PPA for its 800MW project.