Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) cast doubt Wednesday over his state’s participation in a New England offshore wind initiative, saying a decision over new projects was “to be determined.”
Lamont’s comments injected fresh uncertainty over the fate of a three-state initiative to buy more offshore wind power, and they raised questions about the future of a project that was awarded a contract last week by Massachusetts. His hesitancy also comes amid growing debate over high electricity prices in Connecticut after state lawmakers extended a contract to a nuclear power plant in 2017.
“Everybody would like us to triple down on as much new power, in particular carbon free power, as we possibly can,” Lamont told reporters in a press conference in Hartford. “And I do as well, but I also have a close eye with the ratepayers because they know how expensive it is.”
Connecticut had been expected to announce new contracts for offshore wind projects alongside Massachusetts and Rhode Island. But when Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey announced awards for three new projects last week, along with a small purchase from Rhode Island, Connecticut was conspicuously absent.
