WCCT-TV Hartford, CT:
NEW LONDON, Conn — There are new developments in the ongoing Revolution Wind saga, as state leaders make a push to save the offshore wind farm, after the President Donald Trump administration issued a stop work order nearly a week ago.
“It’s a real concern and, frankly, a dangerous precedent,” said Katie Dykes, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Progress on the offshore wind farm is now stuck at 80% completed. It is located just off the coast of Rhode Island, in New London.
Energy company Ørsted said they only have 20 wind turbines left to install. State officials said the order came out of nowhere- and took almost everyone by surprise, including about 200 workers who may be out of a job.
The reason for the stop-work order has not been disclosed at this time, but according to Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, it builds on Trump’s memorandum from January that halted on and offshore wind projects pending federal approval.
The stop-work order was quickly criticized, where advocates worried it would make energy unaffordable to families and businesses, and put 1,200 construction jobs at risk, with thousands more indirect jobs according to data on the Revolution Wind website.
National President of the AFL-CIO Liz Shuler, who represents the construction workers on the project, released a statement following the announcement:
“The stop-work order on Revolution Wind is an outrage. This project is fully permitted and already 80% complete, thanks to the work of members of North America’s Building Trades Unions. It is poised to create hundreds of additional jobs while supplying much-needed energy to the region. Now, President Trump has issued an order requiring work on the project to stop, effectively kicking hundreds of union members out of jobs their families and communities were relying on. New England needs this energy to keep energy prices down for working families and supply manufacturing. The administration should reverse course immediately and allow the Revolution Wind project to proceed.”
“We need to grow our energy supply and we need every electron… Offshore wind performs really well, especially during those heat waves, or winter cold snaps when our grid becomes really vulnerable,” added Dykes.
- Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island jointly deploying 9 GW of offshore wind by 2030 could save New England ratepayers $630 million a year on average, according to a report published Tuesday by Synapse Energy Economics on behalf of the Sierra Club.
- Net savings could surpass $1.3 billion in some years “under a mid-case natural gas price,” the report said. The report estimates that the additional offshore wind generation would reduce New England electricity customers’ bills by approximately $2.79 per month to $4.61/month.
- “The waters off southern New England are among the most advantageous in the world for offshore wind,” said Ørsted’s Head of Public Affairs U.S. Maddy Urbish. “As the Northeast’s leading developer, Ørsted looks forward to helping states meet their clean energy goals with this tremendous resource off their coast.”