WAKEFIELD, Mass. — Sept. 24 — Anbaric, a leading developer of submarine transmission systems, filed testimony today in support of a bill that would help set the stage for the expansion of Massachusetts’ offshore wind procurement goals. The bill, H 2814, An Act relative to transmission for offshore wind energy, would create a separate bidding process for the transmission lines that would deliver offshore wind energy to shore. This comes as Massachusetts considers legislating additional offshore wind energy procurements.
“We must open the bidding process for transmission to competition if we are to increase the scale of Massachusetts’s offshore wind industry,” said Stephen Conant, partner and project manager at Anbaric, who testified at today’s Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy hearing in favor of the bill. “Getting the transmission system right by competing for its build-out separate from the generation of offshore wind energy will prove to be best for the ocean environment, cause less disruption to the fishing industry, and ultimately deliver the lowest prices for ratepayers. In addition, pre-permitted transmission, as called for in the legislation, removes much of the development risk in completing offshore wind projects.”
Conant noted that the bill, introduced by Representative Paul Brodeur and co-sponsored by House Speaker Patricia Haddad, Representative Sarah Peake and Minority Leader Bradley Jones, has a broad base of support, including labor, environmental and business groups. The Associated Industries of Massachusetts, for instance, has stated: “Not allowing a shared transmission model may limit expansion and raise costs and make building multiple projects much more complicated.”
About Anbaric:
Anbaric creates and builds electric businesses of the future. Anbaric’s financial partner is the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. With a focus on transmission and distributed energy, Anbaric creates new entities that transform old energy systems into more effective and resilient ones with an emphasis on clean energy. Anbaric played a leadership role in developing two 660 MW buried cables in the Mid-Atlantic, one completed in 2007 and the other in 2013. For more information visit www.anbaric.com.
Contact:
Erin Clarke, Anbaric
[email protected]
781-708-0444