The state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection will soon announce winning bids for the purchase of more clean energy to feed Connecticut’s power grid, a move that will further diversify the state’s energy stock and could provide a big economic boost to New London and the region.

Or maybe not.

In a meeting with the editorial board Thursday, New London Mayor Michael Passero and his newly hired director of development and planning, Felix Reyes, talked about their recent meetings with developers in the competition to feed electricity into Connecticut via the construction of offshore wind turbines.

The New London port, they learned, is well positioned to support what could be an explosive new industry as offshore wind generation grows dramatically off the Northeast coast over the next decade. But competition to tap into this industry will be fierce among ports along the seaboard. State and city officials must work closely together to assure this is not an opportunity missed.

Developers prize the wind-energy potential off our shores, but beyond vision of the naked eye. Most critically, the location is windy. It is adjacent to among the most densely developed and energy-hungry regions on Earth, but one that faces congestion problems in feeding that energy appetite.

And while multiple ports will feed into the production of these offshore-based wind farms, New London’s port has advantages. It is centrally located. Serving the U.S. Naval Submarine Base in Groton and Electric Boat submarine construction, the port is well-dredged. The New London port has freight rail access and no overhead bridge or utility restrictions that would interfere with the massive tower and turbine parts that would be assembled portside for transportation to the wind farms.

Yet the New London port will require development of the special infrastructure necessary to support the massive construction project, an investment developers are expected to include in their bid submissions to state regulators. Meanwhile, Providence and Quonset Point in Rhode Island, New Bedford, Mass., and even the port of New York City will be competing for a part of the action and some have a leg up on providing the supporting infrastructure.

Reyes said the Passero administration will be working closely with the Connecticut Port Authority to accommodate the needs of the developers and with an eye on the future. Infrastructure developed for the wind-power construction phase will ideally support maintenance of the wind-power fields once in operation, but also enhance future commercial uses of the port, he said.

New London cannot afford to miss this opportunity to create good-paying jobs, expand the tax base, and feed the region’s economy. Support services would certainly stretch into surrounding communities.

Fuel-cell industry

The coming energy awards also provide the chance for DEEP to support another critical industry for the state, one that the state has supported with grants and loans: the fuel-cell industry.

The industry claims to employ over 450 employees in the state. A supply chain of nearly 100 companies in cities and towns across Connecticut feeds into the fuel-cell manufacturing industry.

In 2015, DEEP announced the investment of $30 million in grants and loans to support the growth of fuel-cell production. Yet in the last two clean energy procurements — 2015 and 2017 — DEEP did not select a single fuel-cell project.

With the energy bill passed in the most recent session, the legislature provided DEEP the leeway to award fuel-cell energy projects without diminishing awards to wind and solar energy projects. DEEP reports receiving 20 bids for fuel-cell projects.

While this newspaper has editorially supported market adjustments to maintain the viability of Millstone Power Station’s nuclear-energy production in Waterford, eventually those plants will face retirement and their energy production will have to be replaced, preferably with clean and renewable energy.

As co-chair of the Energy and Technology Committee, Sen. Paul Formica, R-East Lyme, has played a key role in forming the state’s energy policy. He has depicted the support for the Millstone plant, which does not generate greenhouse emissions, as a bridge to an even cleaner energy future. It is becoming clearer that is a future that can also provide good-paying, high-tech jobs and the ability to support economic growth. 

The Day editorial board meets with political, business and community leaders to formulate editorial viewpoints. It is composed of President and Publisher Timothy Dwyer, Executive Editor Izaskun E. Larraneta, Owen Poole, copy editor, and Lisa McGinley, retired deputy managing editor. The board operates independently from The Day newsroom.