HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3969        FILED ON: 1/20/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3161

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Dylan A. Fernandes

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act strengthening Massachusetts as the national leader in offshore wind.

_______________

PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3969        FILED ON: 1/20/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3161

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

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An Act strengthening Massachusetts as the national leader in offshore wind.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. The second paragraph of section 40 of chapter 131 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- Project sites that are to be used for any necessary construction, renovation, reconstruction, alteration, installation, demolition, expansion, maintenance or repair to further any offshore wind generation solicitations or procurements required under section 83C of said chapter 169 of the acts of 2008, as amended by section 61 of chapter 179 of the acts of 2022, shall be exempt from this section.

SECTION 2. Section 15 of chapter 132A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “plan;”, in line 13, the following word:- and.

SECTION 2A. Said section 15 of said chapter 132A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 17 to 26, inclusive the following words:- and (iii) in municipalities where regional planning agencies have regulatory authority, a regional planning agency shall define the appropriate scale of offshore renewable energy facilities and review such facilities as developments of regional impact, and the applicant may seek review of the regional planning agency's development of regional impact determination, but not its determination of appropriate scale, pursuant to the authority of the energy facilities siting board to issue certificates of environmental impact and public interest pursuant to sections 69K to 69O, inclusive, of chapter 164.

SECTION 2B. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, any necessary construction, renovation, reconstruction, alteration, installation, demolition, expansion, maintenance or repair to further offshore wind generation solicitations or procurements required under section 83C of said chapter 169 of the acts of 2008, as amended by section 61 of chapter 179 of the acts of 2022, shall be exempt from regional planning agency review process, including development of regional impact review.

SECTION 3. Section 83C of chapter 169 of the acts of 2008, inserted by section 12 of said chapter 188 of the acts of 2016 and as most recently amended by section 61 of chapter 179 of the acts of 2022, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (b) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:

“(b) The timetable and method for solicitations of long-term contracts shall be proposed by the department of energy resources in coordination with the distribution companies using a competitive bidding process and shall be subject to review and approval by the department of public utilities. The department of energy resources shall consult with the distribution companies and the attorney general regarding the choice of solicitation methods. A solicitation may be coordinated and issued jointly with other New England states or entities designated by those states. The distribution companies, in coordination with the department of energy resources, may conduct 1 or more competitive solicitations through a staggered procurement schedule developed by the department of energy resources; provided, however, that the schedule shall ensure that the distribution companies enter into cost-effective long-term contracts for offshore wind energy generation equal to approximately 11,200 megawatts of aggregate nameplate capacity not later than June 30, 2035, including capacity authorized pursuant to section 21 of chapter 227 of the acts of 2018 and section 61 of chapter 179 of the acts of 2022; provided further, that after June 30, 2035, the department of energy resources shall be able to make additional procurements in excess of 11,200 megawatts of aggregate nameplate capacity; provided further, that individual solicitations shall seek proposals for not less than 400 megawatts of aggregate nameplate capacity of offshore wind energy generation resources. The staggered procurement schedule shall be developed by the department of energy resources and shall specify that any subsequent solicitation shall occur within 24 months of a previous solicitation. The department of energy resources shall provide a long-term timeline for future solicitations 5 years in advance. The department of energy resources shall create a public permitting dashboard on its website, targeted toward and accessible to the general public, that displays each project's progress in solicitation and permitting processes. Proposals received pursuant to a solicitation under this section shall be subject to review by the department of energy resources and the executive office of housing and economic development in consultation with the independent evaluator and the electric distribution companies shall offer technical advice. As part of the evaluation process, the department of energy resources shall produce a numeric score for each bid’s economic development commitments and for plans for financial and technical assistance to support wildlife and habitat monitoring.”

SECTION 4. Chapter 23J of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:-

Section 16. The center shall issue guidance to businesses, nonprofit organizations, a municipality or group of municipalities with an approved municipal load aggregation plan pursuant to section 134 of chapter 164 or other government entities directly or through an aggregation pursuant to section 137 of said chapter 164, on how to enter into long-term contracts to purchase offshore wind energy. The guidance shall be posted on the center’s website not later than December 31, 2024.

SECTION 5. Section 20 of chapter 25 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (a) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:

“(a) The department shall require a mandatory charge of 14.65 mill per therm for all natural gas consumers and a mandatory charge of 0.5 mill per kilowatt-hour for all electricity consumers, except those served by a municipal lighting plant that does not supply generation service outside its own service territory or does not open its service territory to competition at the retail level, to support the development and promotion of renewable energy projects. All revenues generated by the mandatory charge for natural gas consumers shall be deposited into the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust Fund established in section 9A of chapter 179 of the Acts of 2022. All revenues generated by the mandatory charge for electricity consumers shall be deposited into the Massachusetts Offshore Wind Industry Investment Trust Fund established in said 9A of chapter 179 of the Acts of 2022.”

SECTION 6. Section 83C of chapter 169 of the acts of 2008, inserted by section 12 of said chapter 188 of the acts of 2016 and as most recently amended by section 61 of chapter 179 of the acts of 2022, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (b) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:

“(c) The department of energy resources may condition the determination of any winning bid upon a bidder’s inclusion of regional or project-specific transmission costs or, alternatively, upon the bidder’s agreement to utilize transmission procured in a separate solicitation conducted by the department. The department shall give preference to proposals that demonstrate benefits from: (i) direct and reasonably certain commitments made on or after July 1, 2022 to capital investments in the manufacture, fabrication and assembly within the commonwealth of domestic supply chain components of the offshore wind industry; (ii) mitigation, minimization and avoidance of detrimental environmental and socioeconomic impacts, including through meaningful consultation with impacted environmental and socioeconomic stakeholders, including federally recognized tribes and commercial and recreational fishing; (iii) support for workforce harmony and community benefits through workforce agreements with appropriate labor organizations for construction, renovation, reconstruction, alteration, installation, demolition, expansion, maintenance and repair; (iv) training and employment opportunities for members of federally recognized tribes in the commonwealth, workers from low-income communities and certified minority-owned and women-owned small business enterprises in the commonwealth; (v) training and employment opportunities for residents of communities adjacent to construction; (vi) training and employment opportunities to citizens of the commonwealth who have been residents of the commonwealth for at least six months at the commencement of their employment; (vii) the maximization of investments in the commonwealth’s port infrastructure; (viii) the maximization, to the extent feasible, of economic development and employment contributions to the commonwealth; (ix) additional benefits to low-income communities and low-income ratepayers in the commonwealth, including opportunities for diversity, equity and inclusion; (x) minimization and mitigation, to the extent feasible, of ratepayer impacts; (xi) commitments to enter into long-term contracts to purchase offshore wind energy with businesses, nonprofit organizations, a municipality or group of municipalities with an approved municipal load aggregation plan pursuant to section 134 of chapter 164 of the General Laws or other government entities directly or through an aggregation pursuant to section 137 of said chapter 164; (xii) energy storage, including new and existing mid-duration and long-duration energy storage systems; (xiii) resources able to guarantee firm energy delivery; and (xiv) improvements to native biological diversity within the lease area, including but not limited to the provision of artificial reefs, aquaculture, seaweed farming, and other such measures that the department deems beneficial to biological diversity. The department of energy resources shall, in consultation with the independent evaluator, issue a final, binding determination of the winning bid; provided, however, that the final contract executed shall be subject to review by the department of public utilities, and the department of public utilities may allow contractual adjustments for project cost differentials attributable to the utilization or non-utilization of separate transmission procured by the commonwealth. The department of energy resources may require additional solicitations to fulfill the requirements of this section. If the department of energy resources, in consultation with the independent evaluator, determines that reasonable proposals were not received pursuant to a solicitation, the department may terminate the solicitation and may require additional solicitations to fulfill the requirements of this section.”

SECTION 7. Construction, installation or maintenance of any offshore wind energy generation pursuant to section 83C of said chapter 169 of the acts of 2008, as inserted by section 12 of chapter 188 of the acts of 2016 and amended by section 61 of chapter 179 of the acts of 2022, are public works and construction projects and shall be subject to sections 26 and 27 of chapter 149 of the General Laws.

SECTION 8. Section 9A of said chapter 23J is hereby amended by striking subsection (7) in subsection 6 and inserting in place thereof the following:

“(7)  prepare individuals for offshore wind careers by supporting workforce training provided at: (i) state and municipal public higher education institutions, private higher education institutions and vocational-technical education institutions, including basic safety training and basic technical training programs; provided, that the center shall prioritize awards to education institutions seeking accreditation in internationally recognized training standards, including, but not limited to, standards developed by the Global Wind Organisation as well a higher education institutions offering stackable credits to incentivize offshore wind career building; (ii) state and municipal public higher education institutions, private higher education institutions and vocational-technical education institutions for the development, expansion and promotion of offshore wind professional certificate programs and courses tailored to careers in the offshore wind industry; (iii) state and municipal public higher education institutions, private higher education institutions and vocational-technical education institutions for the sponsorship of award, scholarship and paid internship programs to support the education and training of individuals seeking careers in the offshore wind industry; provided, that the center shall prioritize the promotion of careers in the skilled trades, water transportation, operations and maintenance and other occupations that the center may identify as high priority; and (iv) regional employment boards, to develop regional strategies to support the development of the offshore wind industry, which strategies may be published as addenda to their workforce development blueprints; provided, that recipients of funds under this clause shall demonstrate a commitment to workforce training for members of socially or economically disadvantaged communities;”

SECTION 9. Chapter 23J of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:

“Section 17. Based on the Boston Area and South Coast and North Shore offshore wind ports and infrastructure assessments completed by the center in 2017 and 2022 respectively, the center shall create a strategic coastal report that outlines when and how the state should repurpose each port to support the state’s offshore wind industry. The report should include a strategic vision for a comprehensive port infrastructure offshore wind network in Massachusetts.

The center shall submit its report to the department of public utilities, the joint committee on telecommunications, utilities and energy, the senate and house committees on global warming and climate change and the clerks of the senate and house of representatives no later than July 31, 2024.”

SECTION 10. $200,000,000 shall be allocated to the Massachusetts Offshore Wind Industry Investment Fund, established in section 9A of chapter 23J of the General Laws as amended by section 18 of chapter 179 of the Acts of 2022, to be used for port infrastructure improvements.

SECTION 11. Chapter 30 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 62K and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:

“Section 62K. (a) The secretary shall consider the environmental justice principles, as defined in section 62, in making any policy or determination, or taking any action relating to a project review, undertaken pursuant to sections 61 through 62J, inclusive, to reduce the potential for unfair or inequitable effects upon an environmental justice population.

To further the environmental justice principles the secretary shall direct its agencies, including the departments, divisions, boards and offices under the secretary's control and authority, to consider the environmental justice principles in making any policy, determination or taking any other action related to a project review, or in undertaking any project pursuant to said sections 61 through 62J, inclusive, and related regulations that is likely to affect environmental justice populations.

In addition, the secretary shall establish standards and guidelines for the implementation, administration and periodic review of environmental justice principles by the executive office of energy and environmental affairs and its agencies.

(b) The executive office of energy and environmental affairs, in consultation with the executive office for administration and finance shall conduct a study to explore the potential benefits of providing financial incentives to companies who invest in port infrastructure development in environmental justice communities. Pursuant to the findings of this study and subject to funding availability, the executive office of energy and environmental affairs and the executive office for administration and finance may establish a grant program to incentivize port development in environmental justice communities.

SECTION 12. Section 83C of chapter 169 of the acts of 2008, inserted by section 12 of said chapter 188 of the acts of 2016 and as most recently amended by section 61 of chapter 179 of the acts of 2022, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (e(1)) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:

(e)(1)  The department of public utilities shall promulgate regulations consistent with this section. The regulations shall: (i) allow developers of offshore wind energy generation to submit proposals for long-term contracts consistent with this section; (ii) require that a proposed long-term contract executed by the distribution companies under a proposal be filed with, and approved by, the department of public utilities before becoming effective; (iii) require associated transmission costs to be incorporated into a proposal; provided, however, that, to the extent there are regional or project-specific transmission costs included in a bid, the department of public utilities may, if it finds such recovery to be in the public interest, authorize or require the contracting parties to seek recovery of such transmission costs from other states or from benefitted entities or populations in other states through federal transmission rates, consistent with policies and tariffs of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; and (iv) require that proposals meet the following criteria: (A) where feasible, create and foster economic development and quality, high-demand jobs in the commonwealth; (B) provide enhanced electricity reliability, system safety and energy security; (C) contribute to reducing winter electricity price spikes; (D) be cost effective and beneficial to electric ratepayers in the commonwealth over the term of the contract, taking into consideration potential costs and benefits to the ratepayers, including potential economic and environmental benefits and opportunities to equitably allocate costs to, and equitably share costs with, other states and populations within other states that may benefit from offshore wind generation procured by the commonwealth; (E) avoid line loss and mitigate transmission costs to the extent possible and ensure that transmission cost overruns, if any, are not borne by ratepayers; (F) adequately demonstrate project viability in a commercially reasonable timeframe; (G) allow offshore wind energy generation resources to be paired with energy storage systems, including new and existing mid-duration and long-duration energy storage systems; (H) include an initial comprehensive environmental and fisheries mitigation plans for the construction and operation of such offshore wind facilities, including consideration of commercial, recreational and indigenous fishing rights; (I) provide financial and technical assistance to support robust monitoring of wildlife and habitat through contributions to regional and tribal research efforts worth not less than 5 per cent of a bid’s overall score; (J) include benefits to environmental justice populations and low-income ratepayers in the commonwealth; (K) include opportunities for diversity, equity and inclusion, including, at a minimum, a workforce diversity plan and a supplier diversity program plan; and (L) require the use of project labor agreements.

SECTION 13. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the secretary of the executive office of energy and environmental affairs shall establish an advisory council on offshore wind wildlife habitat management, hereinafter advisory council, comprised of key experts and stakeholders in wildlife monitoring and protection, representation from both federally recognized tribes residing in the commonwealth, and relevant state and federal agencies.

The advisory council shall provide input to the office of coastal zone management on best practices for avoiding, minimizing and mitigating impacts to wildlife, including, but not limited to, threatened or endangered species such as North Atlantic right whales, coastal and marine habitats, and natural resources and ecosystems; and traditional or existing water-dependent uses, by: (a) establishing baseline standards for monitoring and mitigation plans required by section 83C(e)(1)(v)(H) of chapter 169 of the acts of 2008; (b) advising on and monitoring the expenditure of funds raised through any long-term contracts dedicated for wildlife monitoring and mitigation; and (c) conducting an ongoing review of implemented monitoring and mitigation programs and provide feedback and recommendations on an as-needed basis, to be considered by the office. Pre-construction engagement of the advisory council shall correspond with project development, solicitation and permitting and a process to determine federal consistency with approved coastal management programs.