Rhode Island-based Deepwater Wind won Connecticut officials’ approval for its proposal to send state power users up to 200 megawatts from its proposed Revolution Wind offshore development.
Deepwater Wind was one of three wind developers who submitted bids to Connecticut in April, and company officials pledged to invest $15 million in port infrastructure. State and local officials are hoping the commitment could make New London, Conn., a base for building and supporting offshore turbine arrays, much as Rhode Island has sought to position its Quonset Point maritime industrial zone.
“We have an obligation to our children and grandchildren to invest in energy projects that reduce the impacts of harmful emissions. That's why Connecticut is making investments in the technologies of the future, not of the past.” Gov. Dannel Malloy said Wednesday in announcing the bid grant.
Survey work is already underway on the Revolution Wind site, located on a federal lease about halfway between Montauk, N.Y., and Martha’s Vineyard off Massachusetts.
Deepwater Wind says construction could start in 2022 and the first turbines coming online in 2023. The company already has a commitment to supply 400 MW of power to Rhode Island, where its 30 MW Block Island Wind Farm is the first commercial offshore wind installation in U.S. waters.
Massachusetts selected a rival company, Vineyard Wind, to supply its grid with 800 MW of power from another lease near Martha’s Vineyard.
