Turbines in the experimental Block Island wind farm in 2022. Much larger turbines are currently being installed in multiple, much larger wind farms off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. iStock photo

Gas and electric bills are soaring for businesses and consumers across the state.

Meanwhile, the AI revolution is bypassing Massachusetts as tech companies seek out nuclear-power-friendly states like Virginia to accommodate their heavy-duty electricity demands.

So, are the Bay State’s ambitious green energy goals part of the solution? Or are they part of the problem?

That’s the question as Gov. Maura Healey vows to double down on offshore wind and other sources of green power – even as the Trump administration does everything it can to pull the plug.

What Healey Didn’t Say

In a speech Wednesday to Boston-area business leaders, the governor blamed the spike in gas and electric bills on the fossil fuel industry.

Gone unmentioned? That Massachusetts has driven off a number of proposed pipeline projects over the years, creating supply bottlenecks when winter hits and temperatures plunge.

Or that a big chunk of the surge in gas bills was pegged to a big jump in demand for a state-mandated program to install heat pumps – a favorite of environmental advocates – with Eversource spreading the costs over its customer base.

Yet speaking before the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Healey vowed to file an “energy independence” bill that would “jump-start homegrown, clean energy generation” and end the state’s reliance on “volatile fuels that spike [in price] every winter and ship our dollars out of state.”

Now the governor did not refer specifically here to offshore wind projects in that Westin Copley Place hotel ballroom. But it’s pretty much the only game in town right when it comes to renewable energy and one that Healey has already bet heavily on.

Here’s the problem: Last year, offshore wind produced just 3 percent of the power consumed in Massachusetts and across the region, according to grid operator ISO New England.

By contrast, power plants fueled by natural gas-fired power plants accounted for more than three-quarters of the electricity generated in Massachusetts, according to the latest federal numbers.

You do the math, but the idea that offshore wind is ready to generate most of our power needs anytime soon is more than a stretch.

Another inconvenient fact? The offshore wind industry was struggling to get established off the Massachusetts coastline before Trump returned to the White House, thanks to huge surges in construction and materials costs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now that Trump is back and yanking federal support from the sector, things feel like they’re only going to get worse for the industry.

Will Wind Be Enough?

However, it’s not the only green mirage that Healey is seeing right now.

The governor, in her speech to business leaders, says she also sees offshore wind as providing power to tech companies with big AI plans, but here again, there’s reason to be skeptical

That industry of the future is setting up shop in Virginia and other states where power is cheaper and more reliable than in Massachusetts.

Not surprisingly, the Healey administration wants in on the action, with plans for a $100 million AI “hub” to attract the burgeoning sector.

Ok, good so far. But the governor also apparently thinks offshore wind is going to be a selling point for tech companies seeking massive amounts of reliable power for AI data centers.

That, anyway, is what she told business leaders earlier this week.

“We can kick ass on this hub,” Healey said in her Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce speech. “We need power to fire this thing. I don’t need wind taken off the table.”

Scott Van Voorhis

As they spend billions on new AI ventures, tech companies are specifically seeking out states with nuclear plants, which can provide the kind of consistent, reliable power.

There’s even interest in reviving now shuttered nuclear facilities, with Constellation Energy working on a $1.6 billion plan to open Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania as part of a deal with Microsoft.

By its very definition a variable power source, offshore wind does not fit the bill.

Nuclear does, but it’s a safe bet Massachusetts won’t be relaunching the Pilgrim nuclear power plant anytime soon.

Which really is too bad.

For it’s high time for Healey and the rest of the state’s political establishment to ditch their dreams of a green energy nirvana and face reality.

\Scott Van Voorhis is Banker & Tradesman’s columnist and publisher of the Contrarian Boston newsletter; opinions expressed are his own. He may be reached at sbvanvoorhis@hotmail.com.