Eversource and Ørsted issued their Constitution Wind project bid, following Connecticut’s Request for Proposals (RFP) to boost offshore wind energy generation. The project consists of several projects that will provide the State a variety of choices for its next offshore wind project.
The signing of the project’s commence took place in early summer, when Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont announced the signing of the legislation, authorizing the development of offshore wind in Connecticut.
Connecticut, through this RFP aims to develop up to 2GW of offshore wind capacity; The RFP builds off of multi-resource solicitations in 2018 in which Connecticut bought 304MW of offshore wind from the Revolution Wind project, developed by both Eversource and Ørsted.
The wind project is being developed by 2015, and is placed 654 miles off the coast of New london.
As President of Ørsted North America and CEO of Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind, Thomas Brostrøm, commented
Since 2015, our team has been focused on bringing affordable, renewable energy to Connecticut, a major opportunity for the state’s clean energy future and economy.
Brostrøm further noted that the project will be driven by industry’s majors and leading experts achieving for sustainability and success for Connecticut.
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Moreover, the two partners are committed in investing USD 57 million for upgrades to New London State Pier, an underutilized state asset, to accommodate the industry and create an offshore wind staging hub in Connecticut.
Concerning the project, the Constitution Wind team collected two-year data from the advanced FLiDAR wind speed and also conducted surveys to more than 12,000 miles in the lease area and along the export cable route.
In the meantime the team was in close discussions with fishermen and community members, making it the first developer to revise its turbine layout pattern to accommodate historical fishing patterns and ease transiting through the wind farm.
Concluding, the two partners reached an agreement in May, to redevelop State Pier into a modern port facility, expanding its economic potential while capturing new opportunities.