MassCEC Announces Expansion Plans for the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. – Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) today announced plans for the expansion and improvement of the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal, a 30-acre purpose-built facility constructed and operated by MassCEC for the construction, assembly, and deployment of offshore wind projects. This expansion is needed to maintain and increase Massachusetts' competitiveness in the emerging offshore wind industry by providing facilities that will support the anticipated increased demand for port facilities that can deploy the larger, heavier turbine parts as proposed by offshore wind facilities. The plans announced today represent the commitment of the state to ensure that the facility will continue to provide critical support for the deployment of gigawatts of renewable offshore wind and serve as an essential port asset for the emerging U.S. offshore wind industry for years to come.

"As the offshore wind industry grows and expands, so does Massachusetts’ port infrastructure,” said Governor Maura Healey. “Throughout its history, the Port of New Bedford has served as a nexus of New England’s economy, from whaling, to fishing, to offshore wind. The investments in and expansion of the port will help maintain Massachusetts’ global leadership in offshore wind.”

"The Port of New Bedford is both a local and global economic powerhouse,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “As the former mayor of a historic port-turned-offshore wind facility, I know firsthand the boost this transformation can offer a community like New Bedford, which has born the brunt of polluting fossil fuel plants. This is an exciting next phase in the terminal’s story.

Informed by a strategic planning process and with specific input from offshore wind project developers, wind turbine manufacturers, global marine transportation and installation companies, and port engineering consultants, the project includes the acquisition by MassCEC of four abutting properties, the redevelopment of an existing legacy bulkhead with a new high bearing capacity quayside, and the relocation and construction of a new office and warehouse building. When completed the project will expand the available heavy-lift storage area by five acres to a total of 26 contiguous acres (24% increase in area), increase the total heavy-lift quayside available at the terminal to 1,200 linear feet, and provide additional office and warehouse space and functionality for terminal tenants (See site plan below).

Image

“Massachusetts is a national leader in offshore wind development and innovation, and we’re investing in the infrastructure and workforce to deploy this clean energy to homes and businesses across the state,” said Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Rebecca Tepper. “MassCEC’s years-long work at the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal has been crucial to our progress, and these improvements signal that Massachusetts is here to support the offshore wind industry as it grows off of our coast.”

“One of MassCEC’s top priorities is to support the growing offshore wind industry in Massachusetts through the strategic development of port infrastructure,” said Massachusetts Clean Energy Center CEO Dr. Emily Reichert. “The New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal has provided the area necessary to stage one of the nation’s first commercial scale offshore wind projects, and this expansion will position the site as a long-term clean energy asset for the Commonwealth.”

In December 2021, the Massachusetts Legislature passed An Act Relative to Immediate COVID-19 Recovery Needs, which created a new Massachusetts Offshore Wind Industry Investment Fund at MassCEC. Through the Massachusetts Ports Investment Challenge, launched in 2022, the Commonwealth made a $180 million investment in a portfolio of offshore wind port redevelopment projects, including funding for the Marine Commerce Terminal expansion project. In total, seven awards were made through the funding opportunity for projects in New Bedford, Salem, and Somerset, including $45 million for the Marine Commerce Terminal, $75 million for the Salem Offshore Wind Terminal and funding for Prysmian marine high voltage cables manufacturing facility/terminal and Gladding Hearn Shipbuilding in Somerset, and North Terminal, Foss Marine Terminal, and Shoreline Marine Terminals in New Bedford.

“The Port of New Bedford has long been a maritime leader in America, and the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal is now playing a pivotal role in launching America’s next major maritime industry: offshore wind energy,” said New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell. “The support of the Healey-Driscoll Administration solidifies New Bedford’s enduring leadership and positions it well to attract follow-on investment.”

In acquisition of the four abutting properties, MassCEC assessed comparable properties, took into account replacement cost values for existing businesses, and negotiated mutually agreeable terms with the sellers to accommodate plans for business relocation or consolidation. The project is being advanced in four phases: building demolition/abatement and soil remediation; civil site improvements for high-bearing capacity groundworks; terminal bulkhead redevelopment; and new office/warehouse construction. The project team is currently advancing site design concepts, filing for required permits, and procuring contractors for the work scopes. The anticipated completion date for the expansion project is December 2026. More information on the project is available here.

Statements of Support

"An expanded New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal will be the staging site not only for equipment, but for Massachusetts' clean energy future," said Senate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland). "Today's announcement is yet another example of the Commonwealth's national leadership, and the power and progress created when advocates, designers, laborers, and policymakers at every level of government come together. I'm grateful to the work of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and the Healey-Driscoll Administration, and I look forward to seeing shovels in the ground."

“The expansion and improvement of the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal is critical to service current and future offshore wind projects that will transform Massachusetts into a regional hub for the offshore wind industry,” said House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano (D-Quincy). “It’s important that we continue to focus on the development of offshore wind as it’ll help us achieve the Commonwealth’s climate and clean energy goals.”

"Notable is the fact that MassCEC is spreading clean energy investments throughout the entire state," said State Senator Michael Barrett (D-Lexington), Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy. "We're looking to create a clean energy ecosystem that produces jobs and wealth for communities up and down the coast. We're going to keep it up, regardless of what happens down in Washington until Massachusetts has the highest clean energy employment per capita in the United States."

“I applaud MassCEC for their game-changing expansion of the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal, which will further solidify Massachusetts's role as a key player in the U.S. offshore wind buildout,” said State Representative Jeffrey N. Roy (D-Franklin), House Chair of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy. “As the industry continues to deploy more projects with bulkier components, there will be a need for state-of-the art ports that can deliver results for a maturing industry. The New Bedford terminal will be such a facility and I thank everyone involved with moving this project forward.”

“New Bedford continues to play a pivotal role in launching the nation’s offshore wind industry, which was initiated by the legislative delegation’s efforts to secure the necessary state funding and accompanying procurement policies through multiple administrations with continued support from the Healey-Driscoll Administration,” said Senator Mark Montigny (D-New Bedford). “This expansion further exemplifies the importance of our working waterfront to the Commonwealth’s overall economy and renewable energy goals.”

“The expansion of the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal is vital to the growth and long-term success of the offshore wind industry in Massachusetts as well as the economic development of the city. New Bedford has long been the center of Massachusetts’ maritime economy and with the expertise of our built-in maritime workforce, we are best positioned to lead in offshore wind development,” said Representative Antonio Cabral (D-New Bedford). “I appreciate the support of the Healey-Driscoll administration and the continued collaboration between my colleagues, stakeholders around the city, and MassCEC.”

“The expansion of the NBMCT is both welcome and vital to the growth of New England’s critical offshore wind industry,” said Ocean Winds North America CEO Michael Brown. “SouthCoast Wind’s $15 million investment in this port demonstrates our commitment to the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal for component marshalling and more importantly, the resulting economic benefits that will come to the region from our project."

About the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center is a state economic development agency dedicated to accelerating the growth of the clean energy and climatetech sector across the Commonwealth to spur job creation, deliver statewide environmental benefits, and secure long-term economic opportunities for the people of Massachusetts.  Since 2010, MassCEC has awarded over $650 million in programs and investments and attracted more than $2.5 billion in private and federal capital.