The Massachusetts House of Representatives has passed a bill that could double the amount of offshore wind off the coast of the US state by 2035 to 3.2GW from 1.6GW.
Bill H4857 now goes to the state governor Charlie Baker to be signed into law.
Business Network for Offshore Wind executive director Liz Burdock said: “This is another step forward in what has been an incredibly exciting year for the offshore wind industry.
“This increased commitment opens the door for the state’s two new wind energy lease areas to be eligible to compete for this procurement.”
However, some green groups were critical that the target was not as high as the 5GW called for by 2035 in a Senate bill passed in June.
Sierra Club Massachusetts chapter director Emily Norton said: “With this bill the Massachusetts legislature took baby steps on clean energy legislation when what is needed are giant strides.”
The House bill also sets a 1 gigawatt-hour energy storage target by 2025 and increases the annual renewable portfolio standard 2% a year from 2020.
Image: reNEWS
Massachusetts offshore push
By EBS