Offshore Wind

A federal lawsuit has been filed against the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and three other federal agencies for an offshore wind project that is set to power homes in Connecticut and Rhode Island.

The largest proposal received from a three-state solicitation came from Avangrid, which had pulled out of a CT project called Park City Wind.

Connecticut lawmakers and officials celebrated new tax incentives for offshore wind development at the New London State Pier. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said new subsidies will make a difference.

Park City Wind collapsed last October. Connecticut is now racing to secure new offshore wind energy to benefit its ratepayers. Permitting laws, interest hikes and the Jones Act stand in the way — also, they’re going to need a bigger boat.

Selling Aquarion Water could bring needed cash and limit regulatory exposure in Connecticut as the company exits offshore wind investments.

Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine and other elected officials rallied on Friday, Feb. 2., to call on lawmakers in Albany to advance support for Sunrise Wind, an offshore wind project proposed by Danish energy company Ørsted.

The New London State Pier is currently being used to build wind turbines for New York’s South Fork Wind project. Its final construction cost the state and taxpayers over $300 million.

The South Fork Wind Farm has started to deliver power to Long Island. It’s the first large-scale offshore wind project to go online in the country, and an important step toward New York’s goal of installing 9-gigawatts of offshore wind by 2035.

Two Rhode Island historical organizations say the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management ignored the National Historic Preservation Act and the National Environmental Policy Act when approving the offshore wind projects in Connecticut and New York waters.

The Biden-Harris administration announced on Tuesday its approval of the Empire Wind offshore wind project, with two facilities planned for the New York Bight, in federal waters between New Jersey and the south shore of Long Island.