FirstLight, a clean power producer, developer and energy storage company, on Jan. 29 announced the expansion of the company’s landmark municipal utility power purchase agreement with Energy New England.
As part of the agreement, 21 New England municipal public power entities have agreed to purchase 197 gigawatt hours per year of clean, local, cost-competitive hydropower produced by two of FirstLight’s hydroelectric facilities in Massachusetts.
The original PPA between FirstLight and ENE’s customer group was executed in 2020, and at the time, it represented one of the largest municipal electric department purchase of clean energy in New England history.
The expanded PPA will extend through 2040 and will provide enough energy to support the year-round power demands of approximately 20,000 homes in the participating communities per year for the duration of the deal, while allowing the municipal electric departments to keep costs low for ratepayers.
"Leaders in the transition to a clean energy future, all ENE member municipalities already meet Massachusetts’ requirement for municipal utilities to obtain 50 percent of their power supply from carbon-free sources by 2030 – well ahead of the mandated deadline," ENE and the company noted.
“We are proud to expand our successful collaboration with Energy New England and the 21 ambitious municipal utilities who’ve proven through strategic action that clean energy, affordability, and reliability can coexist to meet the energy needs of our communities without compromising on cost or service,” said Justin Trudell, President and CEO of FirstLight.
In addition to the original PPA structured with ENE in 2020, a subsequent expansion in 2022, and this major expansion through 2040, FirstLight has executed a number of additional agreements with individual New England municipal utilities, including with ENE members Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant (TMLP), Reading Municipal Light Department (RMLD) and Middleborough Gas and Electric Department (MGED).
“We are excited to expand our partnership with FirstLight, and are incredibly proud that, despite headwinds with clean energy expansion, our members have doubled down on transitioning to clean energy sources, and years ahead of the Commonwealth’s mandate, have achieved power portfolios comprised of at least 50 percent clean resources,” said John Tzimorangas, President and CEO of Energy New England. “Our members have shown that these long-term procurements with existing clean energy resources and trusted partners like FirstLight, are not only beneficial in supporting compliance with state mandates, but they also provide the reliable, local, and cost-competitive electricity our ratepayers depend on us to deliver.”
The 21 public power entities participating in the contract include:
- Belmont Municipal Light Department
- Braintree Electric Light Department
- Concord Municipal Light Plant
- Danvers Electric Division
- Georgetown Municipal Light Department
- Groveland Municipal Light Department
- Hingham Municipal Lighting Plant
- Mass Development/Devens Utilities
- Merrimac Municipal Light Department
- Middleboro Gas & Electric Department
- Middleton Municipal Electric Department
- North Attleboro Electric Department
- Norwood Municipal Light Department
- Reading Municipal Light Department
- Rowley Municipal Lighting Plant
- Taunton Municipal Lighting Plan
- Wellesley Municipal Light Plant
- Westfield Gas & Electric
- Block Island Utility District
- Pascoag Utility District and
- Stowe Electric Department
Through the expanded agreement, participating municipal utilities will receive power and equivalent renewable energy credits from FirstLight’s Cabot and Turners Falls hydroelectric facilities.
FirstLight’s Cabot Generating Station, located on the Connecticut River in Montague, is Massachusetts’ largest conventional hydropower facility. First put into service in 1916, the facility comprises six generating units with combined output of 62 megawatts, enough to power more than 50,000 homes. Turners Falls, just upstream of Cabot, consists of 5 generators with combined output of 6 megawatts and was commissioned in 1905.
ENE is a Municipal Light Plant Cooperative and the largest wholesale risk management and energy trading organization serving the needs of municipal utilities in New England.
ENE works with numerous businesses, residents, and utilities to help promote the principles of conservation, efficiency, and environmental stewardship, and advances the many benefits available through integrated sustainability planning – including home energy audit programs, electric vehicle programs, wholesale energy procurement and risk management programs, regulatory and lobbying services.
