Falmouth Offshore Wind Company Walking From Mass Energy Contracts

Falmouth Offshore Wind Walking From Mass Energy Contracts

Rhode Island Show Cause Hearing June 12, 2023, Energy Facility Siting Board 1 PM

Mayflower Wind proposed to place onshore cables through Falmouth, Massachusetts but there was not enough electric grid capacity to get the power off Cape Cod. In addition at a June 2022 meeting in Falmouth, residents were unanimously against the high-voltage lines.

Mayflower changed its name to SouthCoast Wind and planned to bring its cables through Portsmouth, Rhode Island to get to Fall River Massachusetts. The wind company has to go through the Rhode Island Energy Facility Siting Board to get to Fall River. A show cause hearing is scheduled for June 12, 2023, at 1 pm at the RI EFSB.

Due to inflation the wind company now for a second time plans to drop its current Rhode Island plans and rebid at a higher price this summer. At a recent meeting in Portsmouth, Rhode Island 99 percent of those at the meeting are against the high voltage cables going through their community.

The company filed written testimony on June 2, 2023, to the RI Energy Facility Siting Board prior to the RI hearing on June 12, 2023.

Written testimony to the Rhode Island Energy Facility Siting Board said the company has concluded it plans to rebid the contracts:

https://ripuc.ri.gov/sites/g/files/xkgbur841/files/2023-06/Pre-FiledDirectTestimony_Francis_Slingsby-6-2-2023-REDACTED.pdf

Note# The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities approved all these offshore wind power energy contracts in December of 2022. The contracts were approved based on the 2016 legislation called: "An Act Relative to Energy Diversity. "

The DPU approval was based on the contracts being cost-effective as well as in the public interest.