Sam Drysdale
State House News Service
Mike Minogue is making offshore wind a dividing line with Gov. Maura Healey, arguing that Massachusetts should lean on natural gas rather than spend more on a renewable resource he says is too expensive, unreliable and disruptive.
In a series of social media videos this month, the Republican gubernatorial candidate has criticized the state's offshore wind energy push, though the strength of his rhetoric has varied.
In his strongest attacks, he has called for an end to what he describes as wasted taxpayer spending and warned against placing turbines along the Massachusetts coast. In other videos, he has said renewables can play a supporting role.
"That's not a good investment with your tax dollars," Minogue said in an Aug. 8 video posted to X, standing on a moving boat with offshore turbines in the distance behind him.
"If the wind is not blowing, it's not moving at all. And if the wind is blowing too fast, too much, you have to stop it," he said. "We need to invest in the best innovation, but we don't want to do that technology out in the ocean water. It's too disruptive. It's too expensive."
He also said turbine materials "come from China" and argued that "smart" energy policy includes bringing natural gas pipelines into Massachusetts from other states.
"That's how we're going to lower your energy bills," he said.
Most of Minogue's videos lean on a central argument, as seen in a video he posted Aug. 15: "We can augment with offshore wind and solar, but we need to invest in innovation like natural gas and bring in the gas pipelines."
He was joined for one of these videos by Republican congressional candidate for the 9th District Tyler Macallister, who reposted the clip of them discussing offshore wind with the caption: "Offshore wind is a side dish, not the meal. Reliable power first. Natural gas keeps the lights on when the wind dies. @mikeminoguema gets it."
On Aug. 14, standing on a beach with the ocean behind him, Minogue said the state's net-zero requirements would take Massachusetts from "6% wind and solar" to 70% in six years.
"It's impossible, and it would destroy this amazing view," he said. "We would have to have offshore wind everywhere, up and down the coast. We don't have enough ocean in front of our land."
He added: "Use it, augment it, but stop wasting our tax dollars, and don't you dare ever destroy the ocean, the view, and our fishing industry for ideology."
As he runs for the top job in state government, Minogue's campaign did not provide a detailed energy plan when asked.
The News Service first sought his broader energy policy the day after the Aug. 8 video, followed up five days later, and received a response nine days after the initial request. Communications director Elizabeth Hopkins said only that Minogue "believes Massachusetts needs reliable, affordable natural gas" and wants "to bring in the pipelines Maura Healey blocked."
"Renewables can complement our energy supply," Hopkins said, while arguing that climate policies are driving up costs and that roughly 30% of an average energy bill is tied to those initiatives.
Most of Minogue's offshore wind messaging, as well as his thoughts on an array of topics, has come by way of short social media snippets rather than detailed campaign policy proposals and promises.
Healey's position is more complicated than a simple pro-wind/anti-gas split.
She continues to describe her energy strategy as "all-of-the-above," embracing renewable energy while also supporting additional natural gas supplies as the state confronts high electricity and heating costs.
In March, Healey said it was the "time where we should be looking to do as much as we can with respect to all forms of energy." She called herself "a strong proponent of clean energy while recognizing the balance that we need" and added, "I supported bringing more gas online into the state."
That represents a shift from her tenure as attorney general, when Healey opposed new natural gas pipeline construction. More recently, she backed a gas supply contract tied to an expansion of a segment of Enbridge's existing Algonquin pipeline.
But Healey, whose offshore power push has been blocked by the Trump administration and supply chain woes, continues to view offshore wind as a major component of Massachusetts's clean-energy strategy and regional climate goals.
The state is already committed by law to offshore wind procurement.
A 2022 state law increased the state's requirement to procure up to 5,600 megawatts of offshore wind capacity and a 2024 law gave the state more flexibility around wind procurement details. Energy bills currently under negotiation between the House and Senate take different approaches: the House version would extend the deadline for 5,600 MW from 2027 to 2029, while the Senate version establishes a new long-range target of at least 10 gigawatts of offshore wind under contract by 2040.
Offshore wind supporters say the sector can become a major source of new jobs, reduce pollution and help New England gain some energy independence by reducing Massachusetts's reliance on imported power.
The industry has faced significant setbacks. Escalating costs and supply disruptions have conflated with federal actions under President Donald Trump to delay and prevent offshore wind projects, adding uncertainty to the state's plans.
For Minogue, those delays and Massachusetts's high energy costs provide an opening to argue for a different approach. But his public statements so far stop short of rejecting renewable energy altogether.
"Use it, augment it," he said Aug. 14. "Let's be engineers. Let's be smart. Let's be objective."
