Wind Power News: Connecticut
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Lamont vs. New London
If I had been drinking coffee when I read about Ned Lamont’s recent interview with The Day’s Editorial Board, I would most certainly have spit it out when I got to the part where the governor casually revealed that the estimated cost of his giant boondoggle at State Pier has, without explanation, risen by more than $40 million in less than a year. Yikes. The project to accommodate the offshore wind farm of two rich utilities, one foreign, started at . . . Complete story »
New London mayor announces opposition to port development plans
New London – It was nearly a year ago that New London Mayor Michael Passero had expressed cautious optimism that the city was in line to reap some of the benefits of the planned overhaul of its port. After months of negotiations, The Connecticut Port Authority had agreed to a $157 million harbor redevelopment plan that would remake State Pier, thanks in large part to a partnership between the state and the joint venture of Danish wind company Ørsted and energy . . . Complete story »
New wind farm in development between Block Island and Martha’s Vineyard
A new wind farm 15 miles off the Rhode Island coast, between Block Island and Martha’s Vineyard, could become home to up to 100 new wind turbines in the next few years. Kellen Ingalls with the company Orsted says, “Revolution Wind will produce enough clean energy to power 350,000 homes and displace, by eliminating future emissions, more than 1,000,000 metric tons of carbon pollution.” The farm would connect to the power grid through a transmission line at Quonset Industrial Park . . . Complete story »
Electricity costs and Hartford politics
The politicians in Hartford apparently believe in P.T. Barnum’s saying, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” On October 1, they passed legislation called “Take Back Our Grid,” intended to mislead Eversource ratepayers into thinking that the politicians have heard their outcry and have resolved Connecticut’s extraordinarily high electricity costs and unreliable service. You may have already received a mailer from your incumbent state senator or representative boasting they passed legislation that will reduce electricity costs and improve reliability. But the . . . Complete story »
Mills joins push for region’s electric grid operations to reflect state climate goals
Gov. Janet Mills has joined four other New England governors to press the operator of the region’s electric grid to do more to accommodate a future in which most people will be encouraged to heat their homes and drive vehicles powered with electricity generated by renewable resources. In a statement issued Wednesday to grid operator ISO-New England, the governors of Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and Rhode Island said operation of the grid and the current wholesale electricity market must be . . . Complete story »
Lamont must attend to New London wind project before it falls apart
The state provides PILOT money — payment in lieu of taxes — for its properties, but only a fraction of what would be paid if the land were taxed privately. Reportedly, Ørsted-Eversource has agreed to supplement the PILOT revenues to make the city whole. But the mayor wants assurances that if PILOT money does not grow with the development, or is cut by the state, the developers will make up the difference, a request they haven’t been willing to grant. Complete story »
Eversource shames the politicians courting it
You don’t have to look much further than New London to see the way that Connecticut politicians have coddled Eversource, the state’s electric utility Goliath. Poor New London Mayor Michael Passero, our outmatched David, has been trying since February to get Eversource and its wind partner, the Danish utility giant Ørsted, to reimburse the city for the $157 million in improvements for wind development at State Pier that the city can’t tax. It was Gov. Ned Lamont who left Passero . . . Complete story »
What is up with the Lamont administration and freedom of information?
When you submit a Freedom of Information Act request to a state agency for public documents, sometimes you get a response saying officials searched the records but found nothing “responsive to your request.” Usually that response is true, but not always. Take, as an example, what happened when The Courant asked the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection July 9 for any written communications received or sent since March 1 by DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes with regard to a controversial . . . Complete story »
CT’s long road to replace nuclear power with wind and solar
As Gov. Ned Lamont toured Waterford’s Millstone Power Station in April 2019, after resolving an impasse over the nuclear plant’s electricity rates, Rob Kaye was flipping the switch on a new solar array on the roof of his Nod Hill Brewery in Ridgefield. Cut to this week during the noon hour on a sunny day: Those solar panels soaked up enough sun to cover 60 kilowatt hours of power used by the brewery. Across much of the rest of Connecticut, . . . Complete story »
New London and Connecticut Port Authority again at odds on funding
Mayor Michael Passero has been frustrated about New London being sidelined from discussions surrounding the $157 million development of State Pier into an offshore wind hub and a lack of a substantial state funding commitment to offset costs of hosting a massive offshore wind facility that does not pay taxes. State Pier is located on land formerly owned by the state and recently transferred to the Connecticut Port Authority. Tenants at State Pier, including two commercial fishing outfits, are being displaced to make way for the start of construction. Complete story »
