New England leaders hold private clean energy talks as Massachusetts pursues more offshore wind

Top elected leaders from the northeastern parts of Canada and the United States urged their colleagues Tuesday morning to embrace renewable energy initiatives just as Massachusetts is attempting to spearhead a new round of offshore wind energy procurements without a key player.

At the outset of a regional conference hosted in Boston, Gov. Maura Healey touted agreements by Rhode Island and Massachusetts to purchase nearly 2,900 megawatts of offshore wind power from a trio of proposed farms, an effort that could need buy-in from Connecticut to proceed.

Healey said the procurements were a “historic joint solicitation” with the potential to create enough wind-generated electricity to power 1.6 million homes, or about 20% of Massachusetts’ power needs.

“I believe that for the most intractable, or seemingly intractable problems, that we face today, we’re only going to accomplish and find solutions through teamwork, through working together. Each of us has something to bring to the table. Each of us has something to give here,” she said.

An announcement from Healey last week that Massachusetts and Rhode Island would forge ahead in securing thousands of new megawatts of offshore wind power came as leaders from Connecticut were mostly silent on the issue other than to say they were still reviewing bids.

Officials in the Nutmeg State had originally worked on the contracts for the offshore wind procurements with Massachusetts and Rhode Island but did not announce an energy buy alongside the Bay State and Ocean State.

Healey last week said she did not know what Connecticut—which is grappling with rising electricity costs—planned to do.

“My hope is they buy in at some point,” she said.

She may get a chance this week to pressure Connecticut on the issue with Gov. Ned Lamont present at the conference.

Healey, other governors, and Canadian premiers were expected to take questions from reporters at 1:30 p.m.

Healey offered opening remarks at the start of the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers Conference, which this year is focused on clean energy technology like offshore wind and took place at Boston University.

The Democrat has made the push to increase Massachusetts’ reliance on and fostering of climate technology a center-point of her first-term in office. She has advocated for state lawmakers to increase investments into the sector—an effort that is currently in limbo—and successfully competed for federal funds to boost infrastructure.

Healey said a roundtable discussion Tuesday morning would center on “our shared commitment to clean energy technologies.”

“We’re going to focus on harnessing the power of one of our greatest sustainable shared resources, and that is offshore wind. We’re also going to have an important conversation about how we decarbonize our economy as we grow,” she said.

Andrew Furey, the premier of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, said the northeast region is “integrated” and decisions made by one state or province impact the lives of residents in others.

Furey said the demand for “bold action” on renewable energy, climate resilience, and cross-border participation is “more urgent than ever before.”

“The actions we take individually and collectively will most certainly shape the future of our region for generations to come. This is a significant weight for everybody at this table, but one I know everybody owns and takes full responsibility of,” he said.

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