FirstLight and Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant Extend Power Purchase Agreement for Clean, Massachusetts-Made Hydropower
Per the agreement, Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant will purchase clean energy and the equivalent renewable energy credits produced by two Massachusetts hydroelectric facilities, including the largest hydroelectric facility in Massachusetts, Cabot Station
Burlington, MA – January 29, 2026 – FirstLight, a leading clean power producer, developer and energy storage company, today announced the extension of its power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant (TMLP). Through the agreement, TMLP will purchase up to 50 GWh per year of hydroelectric power and equivalent renewable energy credits from two of FirstLight’s Massachusetts hydroelectric projects: Turners Falls and Cabot Station, which is the largest hydroelectric facility in Massachusetts at 62 MW. The new agreement extends the partnership through 2040 from its previous term of 2030, enabling the TMLP to maintain cost-competitive rates while progressing towards their goal of achieving a 50% carbon-free energy mix by 2030, and 100% by 2050.
“FirstLight is proud to extend our successful partnership with Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant through 2040, ensuring the municipal utility can continue to depend on us to deliver local, clean, reliable and cost-competitive electricity to TMLP ratepayers into the future,” expressed Peter Rider, Chief Commercial Officer at FirstLight. “This agreement locks in competitive electricity prices for years to come through a product that is both local and carbon-free, illustrating that affordability, reliability, decarbonization, and local power can and do exist in harmony. We are fortunate to have ambitious partners like TMLP who share our commitment to showing what’s possible with clean energy while delivering best-in-class service to our customers.”
“We are proud to add another power purchase agreement to our extensive list of efforts over the past few years to both keep rates affordable for our customers and achieve our goal of a 50% clean power supply by 2030,” said Kimberly Holmes, General Manager at TMLP. “FirstLight has been a trusted partner to TMLP for many years, and we are thrilled to continue to collaborate on solutions that meet our needs near-term and long-term and support our ability to deliver top-notch service to our community.”
In addition to paving the way to a clean energy future, long-term contracts for clean energy help protect municipalities and ratepayers. Contracts for local power like this one also ensure that the benefits of power generated in Massachusetts remain in Massachusetts, be it union and non-union jobs, contracts for local businesses, property taxes, recreation spaces co-located with hydroelectric projects, and more.
TMLP and Firstlight Doing Business Together
TMLP was the first Massachusetts municipal utility to enter into an initial 2018 agreement with FirstLight for clean generation, and again in 2020. TMLP collaborated with 20 fellow New England municipal public power utilities in what was, at the time, the largest municipal electric department purchase of clean energy in New England history. Then, in 2021, TMLP extended its contract with FirstLight through 2030, and with this new extension, TMLP further grows its commitment to partnering with FirstLight for clean generation through 2040. In total, TMLP will receive up to 80 GWh of clean generation from FirstLight each year through 2040 via its two PPAs – enough energy to support the year-round power demands of over 11,000 Massachusetts homes.
About FirstLight
FirstLight is a leading clean power producer, developer, and energy storage company serving North America. With a diversified portfolio that includes over 1.6 GW of operating renewable energy and energy storage technologies and a development pipeline with 4+ GW of solar, battery, hydro, and onshore and offshore wind projects, FirstLight specializes in hybrid solutions that pair hydroelectric, pumped-hydro storage, utility-scale solar, large-scale battery, and wind assets. The company’s mission is to accelerate the decarbonization of the electric grid by supporting the development, operation, and integration of renewable energy and storage to meet the world’s growing clean energy needs and deliver an electric system that is clean, reliable, affordable, and equitable. Based in Burlington, MA, with operating offices in Northfield, MA, New Milford, CT, Adrian, PA, Oshawa, ON, and Montréal, QC, FirstLight is a steward of more than 14,000 acres and hundreds of miles of shoreline along some of the most beautiful rivers and lakes in North America. FirstLight has been wholly owned by PSP Investments since 2016. To learn more, visit www.firstlight.energy or follow them on LinkedIn or Twitter.
About TMLP
TMLP, a community owned and community focused municipal lighting plant, serves approximately 40,000 customers in our 100 square mile territory covering Taunton, Raynham, Berkley and sections of North Dighton, Lakeville and Bridgewater. We can produce 110 MW at our generation facility to help meet our peak load of 137 MW in our service area. Our mission is to provide reliable, competitively priced services to our community in a sustainable, environmentally sensitive and customer-centric manner. There are 41 Municipal Light Plants in the Commonwealth and over 2,000 of us nationally. For more information, please visit tmlp.com and follow us on Facebook and YouTube: @thetmlp.