Rhode Island Energy to Buy Power from up to 1000 Megawatts of Offshore Wind

By Christian Roselund

Rhode Island’s main retail electric utility has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for 100 – 1000-megawatt offshore wind projects, to fulfill a legal requirement to procure 600 – 1000 megawatts of offshore wind. Winning projects will be awarded 15 – 20-year power contracts and must supply both electricity and associated renewable energy credits (RECs) to Rhode Island Energy.

Eligible projects must already have a federal lease awarded for their site and have entered the interconnection queue of New England’s regional grid operator. Rhode Island Energy will consider both price and several other factors in determining which projects to select. These include credibility of plans around siting and permitting, information on how the developer plans to avoid, minimize or mitigate environmental impacts, credibility of financing plan, and status of interconnection approval.

Bidders must also submit a diversity, equity, and inclusion plan, and a plan outlining their intentions regarding project labor agreements. By law any project which is authorized must pay prevailing wage, a requirement that makes it more likely that contractors will utilize union labor.

A bidder’s conference will be held on 1 November 2022, as the next step in the process. Rhode Island Energy expects to select bidders for negotiation on 12 May 2023 and negotiate and execute contracts on 4 August 2023.

By filing this RFP, Rhode Island Energy is complying with its requirements under legislation signed by Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee on 6 July 2022. The law spelled out a requirement that contracts be filed with the state utility commission no later than 15 March 2024.

Rhode Island Energy already has a contract to buy power from a 400-megawatt portion of the Revolution Wind Farm, which is under development by Orsted and Eversource. Additionally, the state hosts the nation’s first offshore wind farm, the 30 MW Block Island Wind Farm. The aggregate expected output of Block Island, Revolution Wind, and this additional 600 – 1000 megawatts of offshore wind will be equivalent to 55%-77% of Rhode Island’s 2021 retail electric sales.

This move to procure offshore wind is also in line with the new state targets. In addition to the offshore wind procurement, a second bill signed into law in 2022 requires that Rhode Island source 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2033. The only U.S. state-level renewable energy mandate more aggressive is Washington D.C.’s 100% by 2032 requirement.

This additional 600 – 1000 megawatts will further establish Rhode Island as a leader in offshore wind procurement, despite its small size. As of the U.S. Department of Energy’s latest Offshore Wind Market Report, published in August 2022, 17,597 megawatts of offshore wind farms had signed contracts to deliver electricity. Most of these wind farms have contracts with utilities in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Source: Request for Proposals for Long-Term Contracts for Offshore Wind Energy (Rhode
Island Energy)