Afternoon Briefs: Wind Contracts Approved More Orange Line Problems Mirra Suit Dismissed
- DPU Rejects Bid to Scrap Wind Contracts, Approves Them Instead
- MBTA Finds Fault in More New Orange Line Cars
- Judge Dismisses Rep. Mirra's Challenge of One-Vote Loss
- Baker Admin Sees Benefits in Funding Maine Wind Project
DPU Rejects Bid to Scrap Wind Contracts, Approves Them Instead
[Coverage Developing] The Department of Public Utilities on Friday approved the contracts between both the Commonwealth Wind and Mayflower Wind offshore wind projects and Bay State utilities, rejecting Commonwealth Wind's request to scrap an agreement that it says would not allow its project to be financed and built. The DPU determined that the contracts, which the wind developers and utility companies agreed to in May, "are in the public interest," but both developers have said that increases in commodity prices, rising interest rates and supply shortages make their projects much harder to finance than a year ago when they were selected to provide a combined 1,600 megawatts of offshore wind power. Commonwealth Wind earlier this month filed a motion to dismiss its power purchase agreements (PPAs), saying that the largest offshore wind farm in the state's pipeline "cannot be financed and built" under the terms of those contracts. "[T]hrough the use of a fair, open and transparent competitive solicitation process, the [utility] Companies have demonstrated that: (1) the pricing terms in the PPAs are reasonable for offshore wind energy generation resources; and (2) there was no higher ranking portfolio of proposals ... available to the Companies. In addition, the Department finds that it was reasonable for the Companies to contract for 1,605 MW of offshore wind energy generation based on the competitiveness of the bid, the level of economic net benefit to ratepayers, and the requirements of Section 83C. Finally, the Department finds that the estimated bill impacts of the PPAs are reasonable in light of the benefits of the contracts," the DPU wrote in its order dated Friday, a copy of which was acquired by the News Service. "For these reasons, the Department finds that the PPAs are in the public interest." Commonwealth Wind parent company Avangrid has been arguing publicly for about two months that a combination of economic factors including sharp inflation and the Russian war in Ukraine imperiled its ability to finance the project. It had hoped DPU would dismiss the contracts filed in May, then allow the company to re-bid the project on what it considers more realistic terms in 2023. "We have to get to a point where the contract allows the project to go to financing, and under the current structure, it just isn't there," Avangrid Senior Vice President for State Government Affairs Kim Harriman told the News Service earlier this month. "We have to be able to finance it, and frankly, we can't do that with the current contract. So we think that going out to bid in 2023, that the state issuing that bid, will allow us to put in a contract proposal that reflects a project that we can finance." While Mayflower Wind has said that its roughly 400 MW project faces many of the same economic headwinds as Commonwealth Wind, Mayflower has also said it remains committed to its project. - Colin A. Young/SHNS
MBTA Finds Fault in More New Orange Line Cars
Orange Line riders should expect slow commutes with gaps of about 15 minutes between trains after the MBTA pulled nine cars from service because of unexpected "electrical arcing," the agency announced Friday. MBTA spokesperson Lisa Battiston said in a statement shortly before 2:30 p.m. that a T engineer "identified a failure in a power cable that may have created some electrical arcing with a nearby train axle." Battiston said that routine inspection was "recent," but did not specify exactly when. After examining all other Orange Line vehicles, Battiston said the MBTA identified nine cars affected by electrical arcing and removed them from service for repairs, which will include axle replacement. A total of 11 axles across the nine cars have been affected, Battiston said. Battiston did not describe a reason for the electrical issue, saying that engineers for both the T and for Chinese firm CRRC, which manufactured the newest Orange Line trains, "continue to investigate the root cause of this condition." The MBTA will deploy "an enhanced inspection program" until repairs are complete, she said. "As the MBTA continues its inspections and performs necessary repairs, Orange Line riders will continue to experience longer headways of about 15 minutes between trains," Battiston said. "The T apologizes for these inconveniences." The announcement came shortly after the Boston Globe reported that the T had cut Orange Line service by nearly half in recent days without notifying riders about a reason for the change. Battiston did not immediately respond to questions Friday afternoon about how many Orange Line vehicles remained in passenger service or whether the T would redeploy older vehicles, which the MBTA stopped running in the wake of a month-long maintenance shutdown this summer, to restore capacity. - Chris Lisinski/SHNS
Judge Dismisses Rep. Mirra's Challenge of One-Vote Loss
A Superior Court judge dismissed Republican Rep. Lenny Mirra's legal challenge after a recount flipped his 10-vote reelection victory to a single-vote loss, while another Republican House candidate defeated narrowly has launched his own lawsuit. Essex Superior Court Associate Justice Thomas Dreschler tossed Mirra's complaint Friday, one day after writing a 10-page order denying Mirra's motion for a preliminary injunction that would have prevented Democrat Kristin Kassner from being sworn in as the next state representative for the Second Essex District on Wednesday. Dreschler said he believes the court does not have jurisdiction at this point, after the Governor's Council and Gov. Charlie Baker certified Kassner's one-vote victory following the recount, and instead said "the House of Representatives has the final authority to decide a claim to a seat as a representative." "Even if this court were to conclude that it has jurisdiction to hear this dispute, the entry of a preliminary injunction in Mirra's favor would be futile and a waste of judicial and municipal resources," Dreschler wrote. "For whatever reason, Mirra waited until just before Christmas to file suit, with the swearing-in set to occur on January 4, 2023. While the court could make a judge available for a trial on the merits on an expedited basis, it would be impossible to complete a trial by January 4, 2023." Mirra's attorney, former state representative, Plymouth County district attorney and U.S. attorney for Massachusetts Michael Sullivan, on Friday filed a motion appealing Dreschler's decision to dismiss the case. Townsend Republican Andrew Shepherd is also fighting in court after a recount declared him the loser to Democrat Margaret Scarsdale by seven votes in an election for an open Middlesex County House seat. Shepherd alleged in a complaint filed Dec. 23 that signatures on some mail-in ballots do not match those voters' registration signatures, that Groton officials oversaw a "disjointed" recount that "likely resulted in the tallying and reporting of incorrect results," and that there were extra, unexplained ballots in Lunenburg. He asked a Middlesex County Superior Court judge to order a new election "to preserve the integrity of the race." - Chris Lisinski/SHNS
Baker Admin Sees Benefits in Funding Maine Wind Project
A 1,000 megawatt onshore wind project planned for northern Maine and an associated transmission build-out "would provide benefits to Massachusetts and the region," the Mass. Department of Energy Resources said as it determined that it makes sense to have Bay State ratepayers cover 40 percent of the project costs as part of a multi-state clean energy effort. The Maine Public Utilities Commission selected the two projects -- Longroad Energy's King Pine 1,000 MW land-based wind generation project and LS Power Base's 345 kilovolt (kV) transmission line project -- in October to fulfill that state's clean energy law requirements. The anticipated net cost of the two projects is $1.7 billion over 30 years, but the Maine PUC directed its staff "to look to other states to assess if there are partnerships that could reduce the costs to Maine." At the same time, DOER and the Mass. attorney general's office (in its ratepayer advocate function) had until Saturday to determine whether there was a multi-state clean energy project that would meet detailed criteria set out in Massachusetts' newest climate law. That law authorized DOER to "coordinate with one or more New England states undertaking competitive solicitations to consider projects for long-term clean energy generation, transmission or capacity for the benefit of residents of the commonwealth and the region." In a detailed letter dated Friday, a DOER lawyer wrote that the agency, in consultation with the AG's office, "determined that the Projects would satisfy the benefits listed" in the law and that "the greatest benefit for the residents of the Commonwealth comes from supporting project viability by contributing to paying for the costs of the Projects, while limiting the portion supported by Massachusetts ratepayers." "To support the viability of the Projects, Massachusetts will direct the Massachusetts [electric distribution companies] to enter into long-term contracts for up to 40 percent of the Generation Project's electric generation and [renewable energy credit] production and up to 40 percent of the Transmission Project's transmission service payments for 20 years or less," the letter said. DOER added that Massachusetts ratepayers would be on the hook for project costs "in general proportion to the expected regional benefit to Massachusetts." The Maine PUC gave its staff until Jan. 15 to issue a report "as to the initial determination of regional partnerships, and based on that determination, recommend next steps to advance these projects." The Mass. DOER said that its determination and willingness to join forces with Maine will terminate if "the Projects do not have sufficient contracting commitments to support project viability by February 28." - Colin A. Young/SHNS
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12/30/2022