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.
Early reaction to state’s wind deal positive in New London
Others questioned whether it was a good idea to allow the pier to be strictly for the offshore wind industry, especially considering recent investments in the adjoining rail lines. “This new proposed restriction on who’s going to be using the port facility, allowing only the exclusive use of the State Pier area by wind power, would have disastrous effects on other businesses and is viewed by some as an inappropriate use of Connecticut state property to benefit a utility industry,” Edward Johnson of Groton said. “I’m a Connecticut taxpayer. It looks like there’s $35 million worth of my tax money being used for this. Let’s allow the port to remain open in some fashion for the remaining industries,” he said. Complete story »
Wind turbines and fishing nets fight for offshore space
NORTH KINGSTON, R.I. – Port officials, state lawmakers and wind industry representatives boarded a high-speed ferry one recent morning for the one-hour trip to Block Island, the site of America’s lone offshore wind farm. The mood was buoyant. The five turbines off Block Island can generate just 30 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 17,000 homes, but they represent the potential dawn of a wind boom along the East Coast. Wind developers have signed deals with states up and down . . . Complete story »
Will Gov. Lamont entertain public input on a wind-only port?
Let’s all humor Gov. Ned Lamont and join him in looking away from the messy scandals at the Connecticut Port Authority and concentrate instead on the wind deal that the troubled agency hatched, a plan that could close the port of New London to traditional cargo for the better part of a generation. If I have the governor’s timetable correct, there will soon be a grand unveiling of the final $93 million plan, as already sketched out in permit applications, . . . Complete story »
CT offshore wind may face some rough seas
As Connecticut races to get its first offshore wind projects on track for construction, a collision of factors appear to be working against them. To start with, the timing couldn’t be worse. The state and its offshore-wind-loving neighbors all face a year-end expiration of a federal tax credit that helps finance these projects – the first major attempts in the U.S. But in Connecticut some problems – including at least one self-inflicted one – could mean forgoing that money. Most . . . Complete story »
Should Connecticut study long-term impact of wind farms?
The long-term impact of the construction and operation of offshore wind projects on wildlife in the Atlantic Ocean needs to be studied and minimized. That’s the recommendation of a state commission to Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The Commission of Environmental Standards released a report last week that told DEEP officials that Connecticut needs to follow best practices to avoid, minimize and mitigate any impact wind farms could have on wildlife and natural resources found in the Atlantic. . . . Complete story »
Public needs to get involved in plans for State Pier
Recently there has been considerable publicity in The New London Day concerning problems with board members of the Connecticut Port Authority (CPA) and their attempts to operate with a lack of transparency in regards to negotiations involving the future use of the Connecticut State Pier and adjacent property in New London for a specific business venture involving wind turbines. The money involved with this redevelopment project has been cited as $93 million. So far, this new publicity appears to be . . . Complete story »
Farmer’s battle with port authority started with a plan for rocks
STONINGTON – Kevin Blacker has a rock-solid plan and he’s not letting it go. Unlike other farmers who just learn to live with boulders beneath the soil, Blacker, 33, who rents a farm that straddles the Stonington-North Stonington border, says he has found a way to make a profit from them. As the sea level rises, he expects to see increased demand for boulders to protect the shoreline. Both New York City and Boston, he noted, are working on coastal resiliency . . . Complete story »
Feds share ‘fair amount of guidance’ with state, Vineyard Wind
WILLIMANTIC, CONN. – Days after the Trump administration injected a level of uncertainty into the Vineyard Wind project planned off of Martha’s Vineyard, Gov. Charlie Baker said the federal government has given his administration and the company a “fair amount of guidance” about the decision to delay a key permit. Baker, who met Tuesday afternoon on the campus of Eastern Connecticut State University with Govs. Ned Lamont of Connecticut and Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island, also said he did not think . . . Complete story »
ISO-NE will require wind, intermittent hydro to bid into day-ahead energy markets
Dive Brief: ISO New England now requires wind- and intermittent hydro resources with a capacity supply obligation to offer into the grid operator’s day-ahead energy market, the grid operator announced Tuesday. The grid operator called it “another milestone” in its efforts to incorporate renewables into the regional marketplace. The requirement, effective June 1, comes three years after the ISO launched the Do Not Exceed (DNE) dispatch project, enabling those resources to take electronic dispatch instructions from the grid operator. Requiring DNE resources to participate . . . Complete story »
General Assembly moves wind turbine plan to governor
HARTFORD – With the Senate’s approval Tuesday, wind turbines will be placed off the Connecticut shoreline, which supporters say will help the state meet its clean energy goals while providing job and economic development opportunities. The bipartisan proposal cleared the Senate unanimously and the House last month on a 134-10 vote, and now moves to Gov. Ned Lamont’s desk. If the governor signs the bill into law, 14 days later the commissioner of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection would . . . Complete story »
