Connecticut ups offshore ambition

Lawmakers in Connecticut have passed legislation requiring up to 2GW of offshore wind by 2030.

by Ros Davidson 6 June 2019

Connecticut's house of representatives passed the bill backing 2GW of offshore wind procurement in May (pic: Connecticut State Capitol via Wikipedia)

The bipartisan bill now goes to Democratic governor Ned Lamont for his signature.

The initial solicitation would be issued just 14 days after the bill’s signing, help align the state with , where a request for proposals for 800MW was issued on 24 May.

In addition, drafters of the bill are aware that tax credits for developing wind power in the US are expiring, so companies are rushing to start investing by 31 December to qualify.

Connecticut had previously planned to procure 300MW of offshore wind.

Regulators have Connecticut utilities buying 200MW of the output of Ørsted’s Revolution offshore project, while the state is also partnering with a joint venture of Ørsted and the US utility Eversource to develop a $93m offshore wind hub in New London.