The head of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection says she’s concerned New England’s regional power grid will drive investment in fossil fuels.
Katie Dykes says she’ll consider whether the state will follow through with a planned 650-megawatt natural gas plant in Killingly.
“We need to make sure that we’re not continuing to rely on dirty fossil plants, whether they’re gas or oil. We need to look at this in a comprehensive way.”
A spokesperson for ISO New England, the power grid operator, says states are free to pursue their own energy needs but that the regional market needs reliable energy.
“So if you take a look at wind and solar, which can provide wonderful sources of electricity at certain times, they also do not produce when the wind’s not blowing or the sun’s not shining,” said ISO New England Vice President Anne George.
She says states could put a higher price on carbon emissions and drive a change in resources.
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont has set a goal for the state to reach zero-percent carbon emissions by the year 2040.
Dykes and George spoke on WSHU’s The Full Story.
