Wednesday starts on a dreary, cloudy note, with milder air.
Temperatures are roughly in the low 40s with clouds overhead, but winds are much calmer Wednesday. Breaks in the clouds will support high temperatures in mid-50s.
The exception to the r…
Massachusetts
Wind bids will fill in blanks on Mass. power outlook
The next phase of offshore wind development in New England will become clearer Wednesday as proposals roll in ahead of the noon deadline in Massachusetts’ latest attempt to secure more of the cleaner energy source.
Massachusetts is seeking as much as 3,600 megawatts of offshore wind capacity in its fourth procurement round, its biggest procurement ever. And through a tri-state partnership with Rhode Island and Connecticut, Massachusetts and its neighbors are together looking for a combined 6,000 MW of additional offshore wind energy capacity.
Vineyard Offshore, one of the companies behind the Vineyard Wind 1 project that represents the only offshore wind currently in the Massachusetts pipeline, announced Wednesday morning that it submitted a proposal for a 1,200 MW Vineyard Wind 2 project, which it said could start delivering power in 2031. The company said it offered the project to Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut individually, and to the three states together under the joint solicitation process.
The Vineyard Wind 2 project would be developed in a lease area about 29 miles south of Nantucket, to the south and east of the Vineyard Wind 1 project. It would use Salem as its offshore construction staging site, get steel components for foundations from a Providence-based company, connect into the New England grid in Montville, Conn., and run its operations and maintenance out of New Bedford, the company said. It’s designed to produce enough power for more than 650,000 homes.
If selected, Vineyard Offshore said its project would displace 2.1 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year across New England, roughly the same as taking 414,000 cars off the road. Officials said Vineyard Wind 2 would generate about $2.3 billion in direct expenditures and 3,800 job-years of employment across New England, with more than $1.5 billion in spending and 80 percent of the employment coming in Massachusetts.
The number and scope of bids Wednesday will provide a snapshot of where things stand with the offshore wind industry and the state’s quest to transition away from fossil fuels. But one key question — how much more expensive than the last projects selected (and then canceled) will the next projects cost? — is not likely to be answered until a project or projects are selected for contract negotiations.
Vineyard Offshore did not include a price for the power its Vineyard Wind 2 project would generate. The company said “electricity market impacts and other benefits totaling as much as $4.8 billion over 20 years from adding 1,200 MW of offshore wind to the New England grid include $600 million from reduced wholesale electricity market rates and avoidance of winter price spikes.”
Multistate proposals “must offer the same price” to all participating states or their electric companies, according to the memorandum of understanding signed by the states.
“The multi-state offshore wind bids unsealed today are a major milestone in the Northeast’s transition from fossil fuels to clean renewable energy. We must build offshore wind if we are going to have an economy powered by clean electricity for our cars, our homes, our businesses and our industries. Without offshore wind, there is no clean electric future,” Kate Sinding Daly, senior vice president of law and policy at the Conservation Law Foundation, said. “If we are going to abate climate change, improve our health, clean our air and water – major offshore wind projects like those envisioned here for Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut have to become reality.”
Carver Police Department phone lines are down
The main phone line at the Carver, Massachusetts police department was down Wednesday morning, the department shared on Facebook.
This issue is not affecting 911 – only those trying to call the department’s main phone number. Those tryi…
Man wanted in Christmas Eve killing at Lawrence nightclub
Federal authorities looking for the man suspected of a deadly shooting in a Lawrence, Massachusetts, nightclub early in the morning on Christmas Eve 2023 are offering a reward for help catching him.
Franklin Laras is considered armed and dangerous, according to a wanted poster from the U.S. Marshals. They’re offering up to $5,000 for help bringing him into custody for his part in the shooting at the Energy Lounge on Broadway about 12:20 early that Sunday morning.
Laras is 27 years old, 5-foot-7 and about 190 lbs., with brown hair, brown eyes and tattoos on his arms and chest, according to the Marshals. They didn’t share any information on where he might be, but asked anyone who knows about Laras’ whereabouts to contact them at 1-877-WANTED2 or by visiting usmarshals.gov/tips.
Laras is believed to have shot Edward Javier-Perez, 29, in the middle of the Energy Lounge.
In the wake of the shooting, Energy Lounge’s license to operate was suspended
“This decision was made in part due to fact that the matter is under investigation by the Lawrence Police Department and Massachusetts State Police Detectives assigned to the Essex County District Attorney’s Office,” Lawrence police said in a statement days after the shooting. “Furthermore, the nature of the incident, with the perpetrator(s) still at large, the Acting Chief has determined that in the interest of public safety, the City must close the establishment and suspend the establishments license to operate until such time that the investigation is complete. This immediate action is being taken on an expedited basis due to the overriding public safety concern.”
Javier-Perez’ girlfriend, Gerimar Maria, has said she wants his killer to be caught: “We want justice. We don’t want anyone to get hurt. Just justice.”
More on the Lawrence nightclub shooting
‘We definitely needed more room’: Beloved Brookline theater opens expansion to movie fans
Grab your ticket and your bucket of popcorn. It’s a big day for film fanatics in the Boston area.
After a lot of excitement, the Brookline’s Coolidge Corner Theatre opening expansion to movie fans in Brookline, Massachusetts, is set to …
A first for Mass. colleges: Breaking the $90,000 barrier
Two Boston-area schools are the first local higher education institutions to break $90,000 in annual student costs.
Wellesley College’s sticker price will be $92,060 for the 2024-’25 school year including tuition, fees, room and board, and a meal p…
