Offshore Wind Wire

By Peter Brennan

In a major victory for Cape Wind supporters, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court today issued a decision in which it upheld the long term power purchase agreement (PPA) between Cape Wind and National Grid. In its decision, the Court sided with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) in finding that the Cape Wind project offered “unique benefits” and that the PPA was in the “public interest”.

“Our review of the record indicates that there was clearly sufficient evidence on which the department could base its conclusion that the special benefits of (the PPA) exceeded those of other renewable energy resources, and we uphold the department’s conclusion that approval of the contract was in the public interest,” Associate Justice Margot Botsford stated in the SJC’s opinion.

In November of 2010, the DPU approved the 15-year PPA, saying the project’s unique benefit to the public interest outweighed its costs. That ruling was then challenged in court by trade groups Associated Industries of Massachusetts and New England Power Generators Association, along with opposition group Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound and energy company TransCanada. The SJC’s decision today will end those challenges, and may clear the way for Cape Wind to find a buyer for the other half of its electricity generation.

“This decision provides a big boost for creating up to 1,000 jobs and providing Massachusetts with cleaner air, greater energy independence and a leadership position in offshore wind power,” said Jim Gordon, President of Cape Wind.