US coal-fired plant set for 'repowering' as Shell-Ocean Winds offshore venture Mayflower bids

Offshore wind developer consortium Mayflower Wind has upped the stakes in the US state of Massachusetts’ third round request for proposals (RFP) with “multiple bids” of up to 1.2GW, sweetened by more than $80m in planned local investment, infrastructure, and jobs creation.

Coming on the heels of rival Vineyard Wind’s announcement of its like-sized 1.2GW Commonwealth Wind, the bids by Mayflower Wind add to its existing commitment to construct 804MW in the Atlantic waters off Nantucket, and features an arrangement to land power production at the grid connection previously used by the now-decommissioned coal-fired plant at Brayton Point.

“Mayflower Wind is committed to Massachusetts and the South Coast,” said Michael Brown, CEO of the developer, which is a joint venture between Shell New Energies and Ocean Winds – itself a 50:50 tie up between EDPR and Engie.

The Brayton Point connection point, acquired from transmission outfit Anbaric, is on the site of New England’s once largest coal-fired power plant, taking advantage of pre-existing grid connection infrastructure – key as the incoming offshore wind power will be flowing in via a pioneering high voltage direct current export line.

Anbaric, in a statement, said: “The Mayflower Wind project will bring clean offshore wind energy from its federal offshore energy lease area to Brayton Point, laying the foundation for the broad repowering of the former site of New England’s largest coal plant.”

CEO Clarke Bruno added: “Because Brayton Point was once the site of New England’s largest coal plant, we knew this was a critical grid connection point for the future of our region’s energy needs.”

Mayflower’s 1.2GW bid carries with it an $81m package for economic development, which includes set-up of an operations and maintenance base in Fall River near the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal, one of the first of a number of major offshore wind hubs in the US.

Increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is a stated priority for the offshore wind industry, and Mayflower Wind said its proposal would include hiring of specialised firms and support for low-income electric consumers, among other measures to promote DEI.

“The bids we submitted were formulated after months of conversations with local stakeholders who shared with us their vision for the future of the offshore wind industry. We took those conversations very seriously and developed packages that incorporate their feedback and support each of their diverse groups,” said Brown.

Massachusetts has emerged a leading state in America’s offshore wind revolution. It aims to procure 5.6GW of offshore wind capacity by 2035, the fourth-most nationwide behind New York (9GW), North Carolina (8GW by 2040) and New Jersey (7.5GW).