Offshore Wind is
an Affordable Choice
The purchase of 3.6 GW of offshore wind for Massachusetts in 2024 would deliver affordable renewable energy for residents, while unlocking significant climate and economic development benefits.
Massachusetts’ most recent offshore wind solicitation is the state’s largest request to date and has the potential to procure up to 3.6 GW of offshore wind energy.
A new Ratepayer Impact Analysis reviewed by Industrial Economics (IEc) confirms that we can power 1.8 million homes with offshore wind from that solicitation with a less-than-1% increase in the average residential consumer’s monthly bill.
Affordability is fundamental to the successful deployment of offshore wind. The new independent analysis reviewed by IEc confirms residential ratepayers would pay at most an extra few dollars a month — and likely closer to zero — for the full 3.6 GW of new offshore wind energy in the 2024 solicitation.
Massachusetts can be ambitious on offshore wind — and protect ratepayers.
The analysis reviewed by IEc did not quantify additional benefits of offshore wind, such as the creation of tens of thousands of high-quality jobs in the region and billions of dollars in annual economic output, as well as the lowering of health-related costs from reduced air pollution.
The Environmental League of Massachusetts (ELM) is the founding convener of New England for Offshore Wind. ELM recognizes the significant role that offshore wind must play in our clean energy transition, projected to provide half of the energy supply needed to meet our state’s 2050 climate targets. ELM is also aware of how the price of offshore wind has evolved in recent years and how energy burdens impact consumers’ daily lives.