Opinion: With just days left, we need action on offshore wind

Over a year ago, Connecticut announced its signing of a first-of-its-kind agreement with Rhode Island and Massachusetts that would allow the three states to work together to bring new offshore wind projects to our region. But when Massachusetts and Rhode Island released their offshore wind selections in September, Connecticut was conspicuously absent. Unlike its neighbors, Connecticut has not yet joined in the multi-state offshore wind proposals, and soon it may be too late.

At first glance, this hesitation may seem understandable, even safe. After all, Connecticut customers are feeling the stress of rising energy expenses. But a closer look reveals that failing to move forward on offshore wind today would likely prolong the pain of high energy prices and could reduce

With just days left before the November 8 deadline to join this procurement, Connecticut policy leaders of all parties have expressed concern about energy costs, which have occurred for a number of reasons. This year we experienced one of the hottest summers on record, causing residents to crank up air conditioners and electric bills to increase. Eversource electric customers are also currently on the hook to collectively pay back $800 million from skipped collections during the COVID-pandemic via higher rates over a 10-month period. This fall, Yankee Gas is proposing a rate hike, as is the electric utility United Illuminating (UI). And an increasing reliance on imported natural gas puts customers in a precarious position as the gas supply

While there is no quick fix or single solution that can remedy the energy cost crunch, a “business-as-usual” approach is not going to bring long-term relief to ratepayers. If Connecticut continues down the current path, its growing overreliance on imported natural gas to supply both heating and electricity will further strain energy infrastructure and expose communities to major price spikes. Instead, we should be employing a diversity of resources. Offshore wind is one key way to take back control of our energy supply and maintain system reliability.

Offshore wind represents a significant reservoir of untapped potential for clean power right here along the East Coast. Offshore wind farms are incredibility efficient and effective at producing electricity due to their high energy capacity.  The projects proposed in the recent three-state process will offer a nearby dependable power source that will keep money in the local economy, meaning hundreds of good jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars would be invested in Connecticut.

To be clear, building offshore wind does require significant upfront capital, but that’s true for any large-scale energy infrastructure. And costs won’t flow to ratepayers until the projects are completed and electricity is generated – several years in the future. Moreover, once constructed, offshore projects have the advantage of utilizing an inexhaustible supply of wind to generate power. Not needing to pay for fuel translates to long-term cost savings and predictability for emission-free power. That’s a win for consumers. Offshore wind is a sensible investment towards energy independence, electric grid resilience, and decarbonization.

The multi-state procurement was initiated to help the three states solicit major project bids that were more favorable than if each state pursued offshore wind individually. Instead of competing, the southern New England states launched a cooperative collaborative approach that had wind developers compete to serve the region’s collective interest. By collaborating and sharing resources, the states could access more cost-savings and leverage efficiencies of the regional grid.

The good news is that there is still time —just barely— for Connecticut to seize this opportunity by making a critical investment in Connecticut’s future; Gov. Ned Lamont can still opt into the regional bids, joining our New England partners before the next steps of the process in early November.  But the clock is ticking, and now is the moment for Connecticut to make a wise investment in its energy future.

Kat Burnham is the Connecticut state-lead at the national business association Advanced Energy United.