BOSTON — The governor, joined by Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Rebecca Tepper and DOER Commissioner Elizabeth Mahoney, announced that Massachusetts has selected three offshore wind projects in a coordinated New England procurement and called the move a major step toward energy stability and a cleaner economy.

"We need more power," the governor said, framing the selection as a choice between continued fossil-fuel reliance and building a renewable-energy future. He described the procurement as the state's largest offshore-wind selection to date and said it will deliver new clean energy to Massachusetts homes and businesses while creating thousands of good, union jobs.

Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll said the projects will help revitalize historic seaports such as New Bedford and Salem and create local training and job pathways. "These seaports are being reborn and revitalized now as hubs in the clean energy economy," she said, noting students could receive job training on equipment used to build turbines.

Secretary Rebecca Tepper said the selected projects grew out of months of evaluation and regional collaboration and that the procurement is intended to improve price stability and reliability for Massachusetts. Tepper highlighted two recent federal awards: $389,000,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy to upgrade regional transmission, and $43,000,000 designated for a Barnstable microgrid.

DOER Commissioner Elizabeth Mahoney provided selection details for the three projects — South Coast Wind, New England Wind 1 and Vineyard Wind 2 — and said the procurement will meet a substantial share of state electricity demand and reduce carbon emissions. "This is a pivotal selection," Mahoney said, adding the package will supply a significant portion of the state's power needs and that the procurement was designed to benefit environmental justice and low-income communities, expand local-supplier relationships and include project labor agreements for onshore work.

Reporters pressed officials on price and timing. Secretary Tepper said the administration cannot disclose final contract prices now because utilities will first negotiate contracts and then file them with the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) for approval; that filing is when details and prices become public and subject to a public-review process. "That's where prices are disclosed," Tepper said, describing the forthcoming DPU filing and public participation as the normal process for these procurements.

Officials acknowledged local opposition in some communities. A reporter asked whether the projects would face ongoing local fights; the governor said municipal concerns are expected, that the administration will work with towns and cities, and that the state believes the projects represent good deals for Massachusetts and the region.

Commissioner Mahoney said all three projects will have operations tied to New Bedford, citing the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal and additional build-out there, and added that New England Wind 1 and Vineyard Wind 2 will stage out of Salem as well. She said portions of work will also use ports in Providence and New London, but that the majority of activity will be at Massachusetts ports.

Next steps enumerated by officials include contract negotiations between selected developers and utilities, filing of contracts with the DPU for review and — once that process is complete — public disclosure of contract prices and further opportunities for public input. Officials also noted upcoming regional collaboration at the New England governors and Eastern Canada premiers conference to discuss clean-energy coordination.

Questions remained about some numeric details as spoken during the announcement; officials said they will provide full technical and contractual detail in the DPU filings and associated notices.