Baker pushing for wind farm proposals

The Baker administration is pushing for a new offshore wind farm to be completed as quickly as possible to start reducing the state’s emissions, according to a request for proposals released this week.

The appeal asks for “proposals which include committed Offshore Wind Energy Generation delivery as early as reasonably possible to maximize the Commonwealth’s ability to meet its Global Warming Solution Act goals.”

The state is looking for an offshore wind farm at least 10 miles from inhabited areas. The proposals must also show how they will reduce spikes in energy prices during the winter.

The global warming act calls for the state to cut its greenhouse emissions by 25 percent by 2020, compared to 1990 levels, and an 80 percent reduction by 2050. The state is down 21 percent from the 1990 level now.

“The bipartisan comprehensive energy diversification legislation signed into law by Gov. Baker ensures Massachusetts will continue to be a national leader in clean energy by authorizing the largest procurement of renewable resources in the state’s history,” said Kevin O’Shea, a spokesman for the Department of Energy Resources. “The BakerPolito administration’s priority is to implement these significant procurements in a manner that stabilizes the cost of energy for the commonwealth’s ratepayers and helps achieve our aggressive greenhouse gas emissions reductions goals.”

Submissions are due by Dec. 20, and the project must be up and running by Jan. 1, 2027.