CIP pulls Vineyard 2 deal as US state shuns 'very expensive' offshore wind for solar
State declined to take 400MW of Danish developer’s costly array, prompting it to nix 800MW to Massachusetts
Connecticut’s choice of solar and storage over offshore wind has prompted Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) to pull a deal for its 1.2GW Vineyard Wind 2 awarded by neighbouring US state Massachusetts.
Kathryn Niforos, spokesperson for CIP’s US subsidiary Vineyard Offshore, said: “We are grateful to Massachusetts for its provisional award of 800MW. With Connecticut’s decision today not to purchase the remaining 400MW we are unable to contract the project’s full 1,200MW at this time.
“We look forward to advancing this project and participating in future solicitations to meet the region’s growing energy needs,” she added.
Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), the agency managing renewables procurement, opted instead for 518MW of solar and 200MW of battery storage.
The loss of Vineyard 2 reduces Massachusetts' contracted capacity to 2.6GW towards its 5.6GW by 2027 mandate.
Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources told local media: “We will continue to explore all possibilities for moving this project forward and encourage Vineyard Offshore to participate in our anticipated 2025 solicitation.”
Cost concerns
Massachusetts and Rhode Island have declined to reveal pricing in the latest round, but projects awarded in New York and New Jersey have come in between $135-145/MWh, levelised over their 20 or 25-year terms.
Connecticut DEEP likewise didn’t disclose prices for its newly awarded solar and storage projects but said they will come in “notably less” than other large scale solar arrays with offtake around 12-14 cents/kWh ($120-140/MWh).
The solar capacity is in three projects, two of which will be located in Maine, highlighting the struggle to develop onshore renewables in the region’s small and densely populated southern states.
(Copyright)