The outgoing commanding officer of the submarine base in New London gave a “State of the Base” speech earlier this week.
Captain Paul Whitescarver, who steps aside in two weeks, told local businesses, defense contractors and regional politicians that one of his major achievements was to reduce the environmental impact of the base on local utilities and resources.
“If you think about taking a base green, we’re getting there. Not only are we doing that with the fuel cells we’re putting in that use natural gas that actually has a zero footprint at the exhaust so we’re putting in, that will be, over half of my electrical power on the base.”
He also thanked the state of Connecticut for its $40 million bond investment in the base.
The Naval Submarine Base New London is one of southeastern Connecticut’s largest employers with an annual economic impact on the region of over $4 billion. It is home to 15 submarines, a third of the nation’s submarine force.