Itโs disconcerting to look at our rising electricity bills in New Hampshire, not just because they are upย 8.4%ย over the last year, but because leaders in Washington and Concord are taking us in a direction that will only increase those bills. Added to that, war and possible tariffs have the potential to make costs dramatically higher in the coming months.
Fortunately, thereโs some electricity news to feel good about: The future of New Englandโs power supply โ affordable, home-grown, reliable and clean โ is proving itself right now in the waters off Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
The turbines of South Fork Wind and Vineyard Wind powered hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses during the record-breaking cold snaps and storms of the last three months, helping the Northeast save millions of dollars that otherwise would have gone toย high-priced polluting gasย and more emergency use of dirty oil plants.
The importance of this outstanding performance cannot be overstated. South Fork and Vineyard Wind are Americaโs first two utility-scale offshore wind projects. They reliably kept power flowing at steady, low cost under long-term contracts when it was needed most in extraordinarily challenging conditions. Unlike gas, the cost of the North Atlantic wind didnโt go upย 60%ย when it got cold.ย Wind also performs betterย than gas in the winter.
And unlike propane, oil and gasoline, which areย soaringย in the face of a new Middle East war, wind is free and the jobs are American.
Over the past year, wind and solar power have come under relentless attacks that are often misleading โ orย outright falseย โ fromย front groupsย for the petroleum industry and its enablers in the Trump administration. In order to keep profiting from oil, gas and coal, these groups have pouredย hundreds of millionsย into lobbying, campaign contributions and public relations. Fossil fuel interests have launchedย disinformationย campaigns to try to stop or delay offshore wind.
But South Fork Wind, built in large part in Connecticut and located less than 20 miles from Block Island, has proven itself for more than a year, powering 70,000 homes and businesses on Long Island with a dozen turbines. Over the course of 2025, South Fork provided electricity on 99% of all days and acrossย 92%ย of all hours. Vineyard Wind, which just completed construction and is already providing power to more than 300,000 homes and businesses, produced electricity seamlessly through this winterโs heavy snows and winds at aย fraction of the costย the power grid was forced to pay for fossil fuels during peak hours.
Construction of Vineyard Windโs 62 turbines in the waters off Massachusetts is now complete. In the coming weeks, the 804-megawatt project will power 400,000 homes and businesses. The project has created more thanย 3,700 jobsย in New England and helped redevelop the port of New Bedford.
On March 13,ย Revolution Windย off Point Judith, R.I., delivered its first power to the grid and will eventually power 350,000 homes in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Revolution Wind has created more than 2,000 jobs and revitalized the port of New London, Conn.
South Fork, Vineyard Wind and Revolution are not only going to provide reliable homegrown energy and jobs to New England and New York, they will annually eliminate the production ofย more than 3 million tons of carbonย fouling our air and damaging our climate by replacing fossil fuels. Thatโs the equivalent of taking more than 650,000 cars off the road.
Each of these wind projects is expected toย affordablyย produce electricity from wind for the next 30 to 35 years with no supply problems in winter, no soaring costs for fuel thanks to war or trade feuds, no leaky pipelines and no pollution.
Despite the fossil fuel industryโs attempts to strangle clean energy, wind and solar are moving forward. Nationally,ย solar, wind and batteries dominateย in the race to add new sources of electricity to affordably meet soaring demand.ย Solar is the cheapestย and fastest growing source of energy in the U.S. andย globally.
Wind helped keep our lights on this winter. And during the heat wave that hit the region last summer,ย rooftop solar and batteriesย saved us from losing power โ and saved consumers almost $20 million in fuel costs.
Not surprisingly, Trump and petroleum-funded lobbyists doubled-down on support for fossil fuels and opposition to wind projects over the last year. Unfortunately, closer to home, theyโve been joined by Gov. Kelly Ayotte, who has embraced ย an enormously expensive gas pipeline, vocally opposed offshore wind and signed legislation taking New Hampshireย out of the raceย to create our own electricity from offshore wind without even knowing what offshore wind would cost the state.
That lawย removed the words โoffshore windโ from the title of the stateโs Office of Offshore Wind Industry Development and Energy Innovation and ended that officeโs mandate to pursue offshore wind opportunities. It also killed two programs training workers for high paying offshore wind jobs and blocks any efforts to redevelop our ports to work on wind โ the kinds of redevelopment that is creating thousands of high paying jobs in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
New Hampshire should be turning its back on volatile, polluting fossil fuels like gas, which are exacerbating an affordability crisis for New Hampshire families and businesses. It shouldย notย be turning its back on jobs, homegrown energy or clean air โ the affordable energy solutions of the future. Itโs time for New Hampshire to get on the right track.
Tomย Irwinย is Conservation Law Foundationโs vice president for New Hampshire.