Eversource Energy proposing wind farm off Connecticut coast

Connecticut is joining  New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts in welcoming offshore wind projects to increase their renewable energy production.  The Constitution Wind Project, one of many offshore wind projects proposed to the state, would supply power to 100,000 homes and help reduce the state’s reliance on natural gas for electricity generation.

Eversource Energy and a Danish company are proposing a 200-megawatt wind farm that would be built 65 miles off the coast of New London in federal waters.

Eversource and Orsted announced plans for the Constitution Wind project Monday. If built, it would be the first offshore wind project to serve Connecticut.

“We are confident that Constitution Wind represents Connecticut’s strongest opportunity to meet its clean energy goals and become a national leader in offshore wind,” Mike Ausere, Eversource’s vice president of business development, said in a statement. “Our sophisticated understanding of New England’s electrical grid will pair with Orsted’s extensive offshore experience to bring clean energy to Connecticut consumers effectively and efficiently.”

Thomas Brostrom, president of Orsted’s North American operations, said the combination of the two companies provides “unbeatable financial strength.”

Orsted built the world’s first offshore wind farm in 1991, according to company officials.

Orsted will develop and construct the offshore generation and transmission assets, and Eversource will develop and construct the project’s on-shore transmission system. The project, if built, is expected to come online early in the next decade and will provide enough energy to power 100,000 homes.

Read the rest at the New Haven Register