Testimony of Francis Pullaro, Executive Director, RENEW Northeast
Chairmen Michlewitz, Rodrigues, and Hunt and Members of the Committees,
My name is Francis Pullaro. I am the Executive Director of RENEW Northeast, which is a non-profit association uniting the renewable energy industry and environmental interest groups whose mission involves coordinating the ideas and resources of its members with the goal of increasing environmentally sustainable energy generation in New England from the region’s abundant renewable energy resources.1
RENEW offers its deep appreciation to the General Court and Governor Baker for their bipartisan leadership over the past several years to grow the green economy and keep the Commonwealth on a trajectory to meet its commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This year’s adoption of An Act Creating a Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy marks its most recent in a string of triumphs.
In Governor Baker’s proposal, as it appears in House Bill 3922, he seeks to allocate $100 million of ARPA funds for the “design, construction, reconstruction, improvement, rehabilitation or expansion of port areas in New Bedford, Salem, Somerset, and additional port areas with the potential to facilitate economic development activity for the offshore wind industry.” RENEW strongly supports this funding for ports.
President Biden has set a goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030 that will result in more than $12 billion per year in capital investment in projects, create tens of thousands of good-paying jobs, with more than 44,000 workers employed in offshore wind by 2030 and nearly 33,000 additional jobs in communities supported by offshore wind activity.
Significant upgrades to Massachusetts ports from ARPA funds will strengthen their competitiveness in attracting work not only from projects to serve Massachusetts demand but from projects to serve other States across the region. Directing federal taxpayer funds for this economic development investment rather than placing the costs in Massachusetts electric rates will help keep Massachusetts businesses competitive with other regions and protect residential consumers particularly low-income households who spend a disproportionate amount of their income on energy.
Thank you for the opportunity to offer this testimony.