Posted on August 13, 2025
The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) does not expect to release its next offshore wind solicitation until 2026 at the earliest. DOER cited ongoing contract negotiations from the last procurement round and uncertainty over federal permitting policy.
The delay follows the state’s fourth competitive offshore wind procurement (83C Round IV RFP), approved by the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) in August 2023 and issued publicly later that month. The solicitation — developed by DOER in partnership with Unitil, National Grid, and Eversource Energy — sought major additions to the state’s clean energy portfolio under Section 83C of the Green Communities Act.
In September 2024, DOER selected three projects to enter contract negotiations: Avangrid Renewables’ New England Wind 1 (791 MW), SouthCoast Wind’s Multi-State Project (1,087 MW), and Vineyard Offshore’s Vineyard Wind 2 (800 MW). Vineyard Offshore withdrew shortly thereafter, leaving Avangrid and SouthCoast Wind as the remaining contenders.
As of June 30, 2025, both developers have yet to finalize contracts with the participating utilities, citing “ongoing uncertainty from federal level activities.” They now target completing negotiations by December 31, 2025.
Section 83C requires DOER to run new solicitations within 24 months of the previous one. In preparation for Round V, DOER — in consultation with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office — appointed an independent evaluator in February 2025 and convened a kickoff meeting in April with utility partners. The group, known as the Drafting Parties, later issued a public request for comment on the potential timing and scope of the next RFP.
Stakeholder feedback strongly favoured postponing the solicitation until 2026 or later. Commenters pointed to a series of federal-level uncertainties, including a Presidential Memorandum halting offshore wind permitting, related litigation, questions over the future of the federal investment tax credit, and tariff concerns, in addition to the unresolved Round IV contracts.
Until the Round IV negotiations are complete, officials say, it will be difficult to incorporate “lessons learned” into the next procurement process. DOER will continue to update the DPU on progress toward launching Round V.
Dan Wiseman, analyst at 4C Offshore comments on the delay, “It was a common theme in 83C V’s public comments that developers wanted more time before the solicitation was carried out, especially when the previous one hasn’t concluded. The industry is still reeling in the wake of Trump’s January executive orders, which has raised so much uncertainty in terms of viability that developers won’t know where their projects stand. More stable framework, or more flexible subsidy rules around delivery timelines and contract terminations, are needed to keep offshore wind in Massachusetts alive.”
Massachusetts has contracted more than 3,200 megawatts of offshore wind through previous solicitations and maintains that it remains committed to expanding offshore wind while ensuring cost-effective results for ratepayers.
