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Taunton, MA – October 5, 2021— Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant (TMLP) today announced that it has increased its strong commitment to local hydropower by extending its contract with FirstLight Power of Burlington, Massachusetts. The transaction, which helps to keep TMLP rates affordable while extending the carbon-free share of the TMLP power portfolio, will now encompass an additional 7 years to 2030.

TMLP was the first Massachusetts utility to enter into an initial 2018 agreement with FirstLight Power, the owner and operator of hydroelectric generation facilities in Massachusetts and Connecticut, and one of the region’s leading clean power producers and energy storage providers. This extension helps the municipal utility to lock in the resources it needs to decarbonize its electric generation output. By contracting with locally produced hydropower, which is a finite resource, TMLP is ensuring that its customers will be able to realize the benefits of carbon-free generation in a cost-effective manner. 

“TMLP’s early and ongoing commitment to clean energy from locally made hydropower is a prime example of clean energy leadership from municipal utilities here in Massachusetts,” said Alicia Barton, CEO of FirstLight Power. “Long-term commitments such as this TMLP contract extension are critical in the fight against climate change, and it aligns perfectly with FirstLight’s mission to decarbonize the regional electric grid.”

The 2021 extension will keep the TMLP power portfolio at nearly 26 percent of renewable hydropower through the year 2030. This extension is a continuation of TMLP’s 2018 purchase from FirstLight representing 7 percent of the TMLP power portfolio in 2018 and additional purchases done in 2020 which started by increasing to more than 9 percent of TMLP’s residential, municipal and commercial use by 2022 and totaling about 21 percent for the years 2024 through 2030 with this new agreement and existing agreements between TMLP, FirstLight and as part of our ownership of Energy New England. In total, these agreements mean approximately 1,200,000 megawatt-hours of clean electric power, over a nearly 12-year period, will serve TMLP’s customers.

“We are proud to add this renewable agreement to our other carbon-free energy resources as we continue our commitment of transitioning our portfolio to 100% carbon-free power,” said TMLP General Manager Ken Goulart. 

Learn more about FirstLight’s portfolio of pumped-hydro storage, battery storage, hydroelectric generation, and solar generation projects at firstlightpdev.wpengine.com.

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