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Wind Power News: Connecticut
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort 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.
Seabed ‘geohazard’ glauconite adds crushing risk to giant US offshore wind farm plans
Part of Iberdrola-controlled Avangrid’s uncontracted 2.2GW New England Wind project could face added construction risk from a little-known seabed mineral glauconite that can interfere with and even prevent monopile foundation installation, the developer confirmed to Recharge. Glauconite is a green-coloured mineral in the mica group found in seabed strata throughout the Northeast Atlantic coastline that has been identified as “a potential geohazard” by US federal offshore energy regulator Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). “Glauconite’s susceptibility to crushing can result . . . Complete story »
Developers pitch new offshore wind projects off Vineyard coast
Four offshore wind energy developers eyeing the water south of the Vineyard submitted new proposals to Massachusetts and other neighboring states last week in an effort to get new wind farms in the ocean within the next several years. The new wave of projects could come as early as 2029, though the developers also had timelines running into 2031 and beyond. None of the companies plan to have any operations on Martha’s Vineyard, leaving Vineyard Wind as the only project . . . Complete story »
Avangrid pulls contract for offshore Park City wind power project
Orange-based Avangrid, which is a subsidiary of Spain’s energy giant Iberdrola, is pulling out of its contract to provide electricity to Connecticut via the Park City Wind project. Company officials said late Monday that Avangrid has agreed, along with Eversource Energy and The United Illuminating Co., to “terminate the purchase power agreements” with the two Connecticut electric distribution utilities. Avangrid is the corporate parent of Orange-based United Illuminating. The project called for providing 804-megawatts of power to Connecticut homes and . . . Complete story »
Global Dockworker Unions join ILA to stop Ørsted US from stripping ILA work jurisdiction handling off-shore wind components
Dockworkers from around the world will be joining the International Longshoremen’s Association this Wednesday, September 20th, hosting rallies at waterfront ports and terminals at countless global locations to draw attention to the orchestrated attack on the ILA’s core work jurisdiction by Ørsted US, a developer of wind farms for the production of electricity. The ILA, and its affiliated Local 1411, in New London, Connecticut, are spearheading this Global Day of Action against Ørsted US to fight to retain ILA jobs. . . . Complete story »
State governors seeking federal help for offshore wind industry
A group of U.S. governors is calling on the Biden administration to help ease the “extraordinary economic challenges” that have combined to threaten not only future offshore wind development, but also the number of projects that are already under way. In a letter submitted to the White House, the governors of Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island say “inflationary pressures, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the lingering supply-chain disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic” have resulted . . . Complete story »
Dem senators from 4 states ask NOAA to address whale deaths
Democratic U.S. Senators from four states want federal environmental officials to address a spate of whale deaths on both coasts, urging “transparency and timeliness” in releasing information about whale deaths and their causes. The call late Tuesday by New Jersey Sens. Robert Menendez and Cory Booker; Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, and Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse for action by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration marked the first large-scale request for action by Democratic federal lawmakers . . . Complete story »
Federal probe covers all aspects of CT Port Authority operations
The Connecticut Port Authority has fully complied with subpoenas from federal and state investigators probing the development of the state pier in New London and other operations, authority Chairman David Kooris said Friday. In a subpoena issued last March, the U.S. Department of Justice requested all records and correspondence effectively covering all authority business between 2016 and the present. Kooris said this includes matters related to the development of the state pier to serve as the launching point for a . . . Complete story »
Feds conduct wide-ranging criminal investigation of port authority
A federal grand jury has subpoenaed six years of Connecticut Port Authority records pertaining to a wide-ranging investigation of the quasi-public agency’s business, from its comprehensive management contract for New London’s State Pier to a communications/marketing deal that went to a former associate of Deputy Secretary of the State Scott Bates, when he was chairman of the authority. The subpoena by a grand jury sitting in New Haven was dated March 16 with a required return date for the requested . . . Complete story »
Reserve margin may need to rise to 300% by 2040 as more renewables added to grid: ISO New England
“This scenario would require such a large amount of wind and solar that it may present significant challenges [to] the transmission system and require an outsized amount of land or offshore areas to be sited and developed for the necessary wind and solar farms,” the report warned. Complete story »
Is Mass. eyeing out-of-state nuke, wind power for clean energy?
The climate and energy bill sitting on the governor’s desk contains two policy sections that could open the door to clean energy procurements involving onshore wind from Maine and nuclear power from Connecticut, according to one of the key drafters of the legislation. Rep. Jeffrey Roy of Franklin, the House chair of the Legislature’s Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy Committee, said the sections are designed to help the state begin exploring new ways to procure clean energy to meet emission targets, . . . Complete story »
