Avangrid to launch new bid for Commonwealth Wind, scraps PPA review process

Avangrid Renewables LLC on Friday asked Massachusetts regulators to dismiss its request for them to review the power purchase agreements (PPAs) for the 1,200-MW Commonwealth Wind project and announced its intentions to rebid the project in the state’s upcoming wind lease tender in April 2023.

The subsidiary of Avangrid Inc (NYSE:AGR) in October filed a motion with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) to suspend the review of the existing off-take contracts. It then explained that amendments to the PPAs were needed in order to restore the project to economic viability following the “unprecedented challenges in the global economy.”

In a statement on the project’s website, the developer said it has filed a motion with the DPU to dismiss its review of the PPAs as the Electric Distribution Companies had refused to engage on the matter immediately. According to it, the move will “allow all parties an opportunity to pursue an expedient path forward” and enable it to receive “cost-effective pricing.”

In December 2021, Commonwealth Wind was selected as part of Massachusetts’ third offshore wind competitive procurement process and signed PPAs with utilities Eversource Energy, National Grid and Unitil in May 2022. At end-October, it pushed back the project’s completion deadline by a year, to 2028, in order to mitigate potential supply chain bottlenecks and high commodity prices.

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