Press Releases
12/20/2024
Connecticut Announces Clean Energy Selections
Solar and Storage Projects Will Provide Savings and Affordable, Reliable Clean Energy for Connecticut Ratepayers
(HARTFORD, CT) - Today, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced that it has selected new clean energy projects totaling 518 megawatts (MW) of new solar generation and 200 MW of new electric storage capacity through competitive solicitations conducted in 2024.
These selections will improve the reliability of the grid, save Connecticut ratepayers an estimated $424 million in energy supply costs during their first twenty years in operation, and increase the state’s electricity supply by 3 percent from clean, carbon-free resources. These projects were selected through competitive solicitations for zero carbon resources and grid-scale storage that DEEP administered in 2024. DEEP has also closed its solicitation for offshore wind resources without selecting any bids. The selected projects will be funded through contracts with the state’s electric distribution companies, which are subject to review and approval by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.
This marks the first grid-scale storage project selected by DEEP towards Connecticut’s 1,000 MW statutory goal for energy storage projects, established under Public Act 21-53. Grid-scale storage can provide significant economic, reliability, and emissions benefits to the grid, extending the value of renewable energy resources like solar by helping to ensure the grid is able to meet demand at all times, while maximizing the use of clean sources of power. Investment in storage resources will also help to maintain grid reliability as older, inflexible fossil fuel resources retire. The selected energy storage project is proposed to be located on an abandoned brownfield in Connecticut and will help remediate the property, bringing it back into productive use.
“Growing and diversifying our energy supply, especially our supply of low-carbon sources of energy, is the key to bringing down the cost of electricity for Connecticut ratepayers. These investments will also ensure we have a reliable and green grid that helps us meet demand now and well into the future.” Governor Ned Lamont said.
“We are pleased to announce the selection of new grid-scale solar and battery storage projects that will provide affordable, reliable clean energy to Connecticut residents and businesses,” said DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes. “These selections represent continued progress toward securing a diverse portfolio of energy resources to meet Connecticut’s growing needs.”
“I’m excited about adding clean energy resources to our grid,” said State Sen. Norm Needleman, Co-Chair of the State Legislature’s Energy & Technology Committee. “Adding additional generating capacity is critical, and it’s equally as important to do so through renewable sources whenever possible and practical. This is a big step forward for Connecticut.”
“These critical investments are important demonstrations of our state's commitment to develop non-fossil fuel energy resources to meet our future energy demand,” said State Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, Co-Chair of the State Legislature’s Energy & Technology Committee. “We will need even more, particularly as the cost of these resources continue to decline.”
Between October 2023 and March 2024, DEEP initiated three separate Requests for Proposals (RFP) seeking clean, affordable, reliable options to grow our energy supply. These included an RFP for new offshore wind resources; zero carbon resources (including but not limited to solar and onshore wind); and energy storage resources in order to meet the state’s electric reliability needs and decarbonize the electric sector, consistent with Connecticut’s statutory target to achieve a zero-carbon grid by 2040. The zero carbon and storage RFPs were conducted by Connecticut alone. The offshore wind solicitation was conducted in coordination with Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and those States separately announced their selection of 2,878 MW of offshore wind projects in early September. DEEP received robust participation in all three competitive solicitations, including more than 50 projects submitted by 27 developers.
The selected solar and storage resources represent a 3% increase in the state’s energy supply, and will save Connecticut ratepayers $424 million in energy supply costs, net of the costs of the contracts, in the first 20 years of operation. This level of savings is equivalent to an estimated $0.57/month reduction for the average residential customer electricity bill.
The three awarded solar projects are:
- Solar Nursery – 200 MW developed by D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI) and located in Connecticut.
- Freedom Pine Solar – 250 MW developed by DESRI and located in Maine.
- Crooked Trail Solar – 68 MW developed by Verogy and located in Maine.
Combined, these solar projects will provide 816,000 megawatt-hours a year, equivalent to over 3 percent of Connecticut’s current electric distribution company load and enough to power 97,000 of the state’s homes with clean electricity.
The awarded storage project, Connecticut’s first grid-scale storage selection, is:
- Naugatuck Avenue – 200 MW developed by Jupiter Power and located in Connecticut.
“Verogy is proud to have been selected to contribute to DEEP’s zero carbon procurement in such a meaningful way,” said Bryan Fitzgerald, Director of Development at Verogy. “We look forward to helping Connecticut meet its clean energy goals with the critical amounts of renewable energy to be produced by this project.”
"Jupiter Power is excited to support Connecticut’s energy storage goals with this critical project, which would be one of the largest in New England when constructed and marks a significant step in Jupiter's growth nationwide," said Andy Bowman, Jupiter Power's CEO. "Energy storage is an increasingly vital part of grid resiliency, and we look forward to collaborating with all of our state and local partners to advance its development."
As a next step in the RFP process, the selected solar and storage projects are negotiating long-term contracts with the state’s electric distribution companies, Eversource Energy and The United Illuminating Company. DEEP expects any resulting contracts to be filed with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority for review and approval early next year. While confidentiality requirements do not allow us to disclose bid prices at this time, the awarded bids from this procurement are notably less than other large scale solar programs in Connecticut which have costs in the 12-14 cents/kWh range.
DEEP pursued the multi-state coordinated offshore wind procurement and the concurrent zero carbon and storage RFPs as part of a longstanding practice of soliciting the most competitive investment options available across a broad range of clean energy technologies. While DEEP did not select an offshore wind project in the multi-state RFP, we applaud the offshore wind selections made by Massachusetts and Rhode Island earlier this year. Connecticut remains committed to offshore wind, a critical source of energy supply that is helping to reduce emissions, improve grid reliability, bolster our energy supply, and support economic development in our state and region. The Revolution Wind project, which Connecticut has co-invested in with Rhode Island, is under construction and will soon deliver clean, reliable energy to ISO-New England. DEEP will continue to work with state and regional partners, such as the Connecticut Wind Collaborative, to bring offshore wind and other resources online affordably, including through future competitive solicitations, to achieve a reliable clean energy supply for the state and region. We look forward to partnering with the other New England states on a new regional transmission procurement in 2025 to advance transmission projects that provide significant regional reliability and affordability benefits.- Twitter: @CTDEEPNews
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Contact
DEEP Communications
DEEP.communications@ct.gov
860-424-3110