Connecticut officials announced Friday the state will not be participating in a multi-state effort to bring more offshore wind power to New England.
Connecticut had joined with Rhode Island and Massachusetts to make a bulk purchase of offshore wind.
That effort hit a stumbling block in September when Connecticut delayed making a decision. The other two states agreed to purchase less than half of the wind power originally intended.
Some environmentalists were still holding out hope that Connecticut would submit a bid. But Friday, Gov. Ned Lamont closed the door on that idea – at least for now.
“We took a pass on this round,” Lamont said. “Every state has got different priorities about how we increase capacity, which is how – ultimately – we’re going to bring down the cost of electricity and do it in as green a way as we can.”
Katie Dykes, commissioner of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said cost played a role in the decision to close the offshore wind solicitation Friday without selecting any bids.
“The headwinds that we’ve experienced in terms of increasing interest rates and supply challenges in recent years have affected a lot of different energy sources. Not just offshore wind,” Dykes said.
In a statement, the agency announced it was selecting several other clean energy projects, including 518 megawatts of solar energy and 200 megawatts of new electric storage capacity.
“This year, what we saw rise to the top were the solar and storage projects,” Dykes said.
Connecticut is still committed to working with New England states on offshore wind projects, Dykes said.
She cited a need for upgraded transmission networks and more clean power capacity — including tying into onshore wind projects in northern New England and continued investment in nuclear energy.
“But we’re still very committed to offshore wind,” she said. “We know that we are going to need all these different energy supply resources in order to support our growing economy.”
This story was originally published by Connecticut Public. It was shared as part of the New England News Collaborative.
