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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2563 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3479
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Kip A. Diggs
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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act relative to the onshore siting of infrastructure associated with offshore wind projects.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Kip A. Diggs2nd Barnstable1/16/2025 1 of 2
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2563 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3479
By Representative Diggs of Barnstable, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3479) of Kip
A. Diggs relative to the onshore siting of infrastructure associated with offshore wind projects.
Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
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An Act relative to the onshore siting of infrastructure associated with offshore wind projects.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1.
2 1. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, and standing firmly in
3support of the goal to increase the generation of electrical power from renewable sources, the
4Commonwealth of Massachusetts directs the developers of offshore wind power projects to site
5the related onshore infrastructure on coastal locations that are industrial in nature and/or that
6contain existing power plants, whether they be active or decommissioned.
7 2. It is the direction of the Commonwealth that no such offshore wind projects should
8come ashore on or underneath public beaches, parks, recreation areas or conservation lands, or in
9small residential communities whose economies are based on tourism.
10 3. Such infrastructure shall include but not be limited to high voltage power cables,
11splicing vaults installed beneath public parking lots and public and private roadways, concrete
12duct banks conveying high voltage power cables beneath public and private roadways, and 2 of 2
13electric substations newly constructed or rebuilt to take the electricity generated by offshore
14wind turbines.
15 4. Such infrastructure, especially including but not limited to electric substations, should
16never be situated on top of a sole source aquifer and on or adjacent to wellhead protection zones,
17where any explosion or leak of toxic dielectric cooling fluids could prove catastrophic and a
18long-lasting threat to public health and safety.
19 5. Prior to accepting any new bids for offshore wind development, including the ongoing
20Section 83C Round 4 Offshore Wind Procurement, the Executive Office of Energy and
21Environmental Affairs (EEA) is directed to:
22 a. Review and evaluate independent studies of coordinated offshore transmission
23solutions, analyses and any such other studies and other recognized experts that are deemed
24credible and relevant; and
25 b. Report the results of such EEA review and evaluation, including EEA’s assessment of
26the potential cost savings to electric utility ratepayers of coordinated offshore transmission
27solutions in public session to the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court and to
28the Massachusetts voters at large.
29 6. Furthermore, each of the Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB) and any related
30commission or permitting agency of the Commonwealth is directed not to consider, hold
31hearings on, approve or issue any permits for such projects that contravene the intentions stated
32herein.
33 SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage.