According to today's Boston Globe, both NStar and National Grid have terminated their power purchase agreements with Cape Wind, citing the failure by Cape Wind to meet a December 31, 2014 deadline to obtain financing and begin construction. Cape Wind is asserting that the utilities may not validly terminate the PPAs, arguing that the protracted litigation against the project excuses Cape Wind's obligation to meet the December 31 date.
I'm not going to get into the merits of the contractual wrangling. I'm only going to note here that this development once again raises the question how Massachusetts is going to meet the greenhouse gas reduction targets in the Global Warming Solutions Act. Activists, local renewable developers, and other stakeholders have been concerned about what electricity sources will qualify to help meet the GWSA standards and, in particular, how much the Commonwealth will rely on Canadian hydropower. If Cape Wind is not available, the Commonwealth better start working on Plan B (or C).
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