Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is going public with updates to a plan it hopes will reduce carbon emissions and increase supplies of renewable energy.
Among other goals, the Comprehensive Energy Strategy calls for an expansion of the state’s flagship clean energy portfolio – which includes renewables like wind and grid-scale solar – to 30 percent by 2030.
But DEEP Commissioner Rob Klee says figuring out how to move all that renewable energy around New England’s already congested grid could be tricky.
“If you’re talking about offshore wind…is going to be an essential part of this challenge to hit that 30 percent by 2030.”
Any updates to Connecticut’s renewable portfolio standards would require legislative approval.
Klee says DEEP has “learned a lot” since the first iteration of Comprehensive Energy Strategy in 2013, which emphasized natural gas and pipeline expansion.
Falling oil prices have blunted demand for natural gas conversions, especially in homes. And the document acknowledges pipeline expansions in the region have not materialized at the rate projected.
Going forward, Klee says sustainability is one of the “guiding stars” for this energy strategy. The document is now open for public comment – nd Klee says his agency will host a number of public meetings on the policy in the coming weeks.
This report comes from the New England News Collaborative, eight public media companies coming together to tell the story of a changing region, with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
