CT House passes wind-power procurement bill
The Connecticut House of Representatives voted 134-10 to approve legislation that would enable the state to buy up to 2GW of offshore wind power.
The legislation ”“ H.B.7156, An Act Concerning the Procurement of Energy Derived from Offshore Wind ”“ requires the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) to initiate a solicitation process for the wind power procurement within 14 days of the bill”™s passage. DEEP will also be mandated to set up a future schedule for procurements. DEEP and the Department of Economic and Community Development will be required to coordinate a process to determine which selected wind power proposals will have the most positive impacts on Connecticut”™s economic development. The bill will now be referred to the state Senate.
Wind power is not part of Connecticut”™s current power resources. A partnership between Eversource and Ørsted A/S of Denmark are planning to bring 300MW of offshore wind power to Connecticut via the Revolution Wind project based within a federal lease site between Montauk and Martha”™s Vineyard. Earlier this month, Gov. Ned Lamont announced a partnership with the state, the Connecticut Port Authority, the terminal operator Gateway and Eversource and Ørsted to create an offshore wind port facility at New London”™s State Pier ”“ that plan is contingent upon receiving all the federal and state permits.
“Our administration is working hard to put Connecticut in a place to become the center hub of the offshore wind industry in New England, and this legislation moves us one step closer to making that a reality,” Lamont said.
“Our valuable shoreline has the potential to provide multiple benefits to Connecticut residents; by delivering zero-carbon renewable energy, we can increase the regional grid”™s fuel security and make significant progress toward meeting our climate goals, all while driving economic growth and creating good jobs. This is an opportunity that we cannot squander, and the growing, unified momentum behind this bill shows just how important this is to Connecticut.”