10 Northeastern states agree to collaborate on interregional transmission development

Dive Brief:

• Ten Northeast states on Tuesday announced a first-of-its-kind memorandum of understanding to work jointly on the planning and development of “robust interregional transmission infrastructure.” 
• The states, stretching from Maine to Maryland, will seek “mutually beneficial opportunities to increase the flow of electricity between three different planning regions in the Northeast and assess offshore wind infrastructure needs and solutions,” they said in a joint press release. 
• The states agreed to share technical data, solicitation guidance, regulatory updates, strategic plans, project status reports, research findings and more. The MOU does not include cost-sharing provisions, and specifies that all states are responsible for their own costs.

Dive Insight:

The multi-state group has been working with the U.S. Department of Energy for the past year to develop the structure and scope of the agreement, according to the states’ announcement.

“As we face down the challenge of climate change, we know we cannot tackle this threat as individual states,” Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper said in a statement. “Through partnerships like this collaborative, we will be able to advance more cost-effective transmission projects for the residents of the Northeast.”

The MOU was signed by Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. 

Dubbed the Northeast States Collaborative on Interregional Transmission, the states also said they plan to produce a strategic action plan for “promoting the development of interregional transmission projects for offshore wind.”

The collaborative said the plan will:

• Include identification of project barriers and options for addressing them;
• Allow for opportunities for external engagement;
• Assist states in coordinating on technical standards for offshore wind transmission equipment “to ensure future flexibility and interoperability as projects come on-line in different locations and at different times, preserving the ability to interconnect regions as the industry matures.”

“Our collective planning now will ensure that we maximize investments in infrastructure that are foundational to meeting power system demands in the decades to come,” said Jason Marshall, Massachusetts EEA deputy secretary and special counsel for federal and regional energy affairs.

States in the region have set aggressive goals for developing offshore wind resources, looking to decarbonize electric grids while savings consumers money. Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island jointly deploying 9 GW of offshore wind by 2030 could save ratepayers in the region $630 million a year on average, according to a June report published Tuesday by Synapse Energy Economics on behalf of the Sierra Club.

The U.S. offshore wind industry is at an “inflection point” and poised for “liftoff,” DOE said in an April report.

“Enabling infrastructure will be key to liftoff,” DOE said. “This includes critical supply chain links: the availability of ports and vessels will set the annual deployment potential of the U.S. market, and widespread expansion across component supply chains will be required to support growing demand both in the U.S. and abroad.”

Massachusetts has led efforts to collaborate on regional energy systems. In 2023 the state requested DOE convene and lead the first-in-the-nation 10-state collaborative. And in June, a coalition of New England states submitted an application to DOE’s Grid Innovation Program to support the Power Up New England project. In conjunction with New York, those states submitted another application for the Clean Resilience Link project to increase transfer capacity between the two regions by up to 1,000 MW.

The Grid Innovation Program is managed through DOE’s $10.5 billion Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships program. Awards are capped at $250 million unless projects have a significant transmission investment, in which case they can receive up to $1 billion. Both New England projects would qualify for higher investment levels, the states said.

“As we continue to grow our burgeoning offshore wind industry — while capitalizing on its significant environmental and economic benefits — we will also continue to collaborate with our regional partners to build a transmission network that is increasingly more reliable and resilient,” said New Jersey Board of Public Utilities President Christine Guhl-Sadovy.