CT, RI seek court order resuming work on Revolution Wind
Mark Pazniokas, CT Mirror
Attorney General William Tong told an appreciative audience
of construction union leaders Wednesday that Connecticut and Rhode Island were
seeking a court order allowing resumption of work on the off-shore Revolution
Wind project abruptly halted last month by the Trump administration.
“I will make news right now. We are moving, as we speak, for
a preliminary injunction to overturn the stop-work order right now,” Tong told
the Connecticut Building Trades Council convention at the Mohegan
Sun casino, prompting applause.
Lawyers for the two states, which have contracts to purchase
power to be generated by wind turbines off the Rhode Island coast, are filing
in U.S. District Court in Providence for an injunction that would lift a
federal stop-work order while the issue is litigated, Tong said.
The Trump administration issued the unprecedented order to
stop work on a fully permitted, multibillion-dollar project that was initiated
during Donald Trump’s first presidency and was 80% complete, promising the
delivery of enough power next year to light 350,000 homes in Connecticut and
Rhode Island.
Tong already had filed suit, but he said he had delayed
seeking an injunction at the urging of Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat and former
businessman who wanted to first attempt negotiation through contacts, most
notably a former fellow governor, Douglas Burgum, who is Trump’s secretary of
the interior.
The attorney general said he was acting with the consent of
the governor, who told him he saw no sign of the Trump administration wanting
to find a solution.
Lamont addressed the convention earlier Wednesday,
complaining that the Trump administration was no closer to explaining in detail
why it halted the project, other than vague claims of national security — or
what it would take to lift the stop-work order, issued a week before Labor Day.
“I want to know: What does it take to get this thing open?”
Lamont said. “Tell me what it is. Show me the ransom note.”
“Ransom note” was an unusually blunt reference, at least for
Lamont, to the accusations that Trump is willing to use executive actions on
one issue to force a concession on something else.
His administration halted a different wind project off New
York until Gov. Kathy Hochul dropped her opposition to a gas pipeline sought by
Trump.
“I’m a pretty patient guy. I work hard on relationships,”
Lamont said. “I work hard on relationships in the Biden administration and the
Trump administration. I have pretty good relationships with [the departments
of] Energy and Interior and even in the White House down there.”
But Lamont said no one would articulate a reason for the
shutdown of a project that had undergone exhaustive review before it was
permitted to proceed under a lease from the federal government.
“You just can’t trust this administration. This administration is, in many ways, hostile to business. This is crony capitalism,” Lamont said. “We had a deal. I know that the president hates wind power. He’s been quite expressive on that subject. But we also know that a deal is a deal.”
Connecticut and Rhode Island filed suit in U.S. District
Court on Sept. 4 in Rhode Island, opposing the stop-work order, stopping short
of a demand for an injunction. Ørsted, the Danish company building Revolution
Wind, filed a similar action in the District of Columbia.
The Trump administration defended the order this week in
federal court in Washington, but Tong said it still has not identified specific
reasons for a halting work after two years of a construction.
“The Order does not identify any violation of law, any
imminent threat to safety, or any judicial decree requiring suspension,” Tong
and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha wrote in their motion for an
injunction.
House Minority Leader Vincent J. Candelora, R-North
Branford, who also spoke at the convention, said in an interview after
addressing delegates that he favored completion of Revolution Wind and that the
Trump administration owed the public an explanation for halting it.
“I think when a government suspends a project they have an
obligation to immediately state the grounds for that suspension, so that there
could be corrective action and it could be moved forward,” Candelora said.
“That project needs to be completed. It’s almost done.”
Candelora said he generally was wary about the cost of wind
power, but he noted that Revolution Wind offered a relatively competitive
price, unlike another wind project that Lamont had refused to support.
“I think stopping this project is unrealistic and will cause
more harm in the long run,” he said.
Lamont said Ørsted is under pressure to continue the project
or potentially lose access to specialty vessels leased for construction.
“I think we’ve got a little more time,” Lamont said. “But
that’s measured in maybe weeks, not longer than that, days or weeks, actually.”
Costco distribution facility proposed for Plainfield/Canterbury: What we know
Costco Wholesale Corporation proposed building a
distribution facility on the Plainfield/Canterbury town line at a presentation
to the public in the Plainfield High School auditorium Sept. 17.
The site would be located on approximately 443 acres and the
proposed location is in both Plainfield and Canterbury. Two buildings are
currently being proposed on the site: a depot/cross dock facility and a second
building for potential future uses. The depot/cross dock facility will house an
office area, storage as well as items that will be delivered to Costco
stores.
Costco plans to hire for 190 positions in year one, with an
average hourly wage of $26 per hour. The company plans on increasing their
workforce at the Plainfield/Canterbury facility to 250 positions in year five,
with an average hourly wage of $30.
95% of employees at the Plainfield/Canterbury facility will be eligible for Costco’s employee benefits. The company’s benefits include medical, dental, vision, pharmacy life and disability insurance. Costco also offers a 401(k) with company match and annual contribution in addition to flexible spending and dependent care accounts. Vacation time and holidays are also offered.
Mark Marchisano, director of development for Costco, said
the company chose the Plainfield/Canterbury town line for its new facility
because of the close proximity to I-395.
“The benefit to this area is that it’s centrally located to
the whole northeastern corridor,” Marchisano said. “It’s right off of 395. So,
it is very easy access to go south as well as to go north.”
Why does Costco want to come to Plainfield?
In addition, Seth Katz, Costco’s assistant vice president of
real estate, said Plainfield/Canterbury was chosen as the site of a new
distribution facility to better serve customers in New England.
There are currently six Costco locations in Connecticut,
seven in Massachusetts, one in New Hampshire and one in Maine.
“Right now, we service our stores in New England out of
Monroe Township, New Jersey, which has worked well for us for a long time,”
Katz said. “But what we learned as a company is that we shouldn’t close depots,
we should add new ones. Because as the business is growing, we find it’s more
efficient and it helps drive prices down and offer members great service by
moving the facility east.”
Costco is in the early stages of development for the
project. Marchisano said the company has not submitted any formal applications
to any boards in either Plainfield or Canterbury. He added that the project did
not have a timeline as of Sept. 17.
“We are literally just starting this process,” Marchisano
said.
AG Seeks Court Order to Restart Wind Project as Federal Talks Stall
Nearly a month after federal authorities halted the
Revolution Wind project, negotiations remain
stalled and the dispute appears headed to court.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, and his Rhode
Island counterpart, filed a motion Wednesday seeking a preliminary injunction
to block the order that stopped the project and allow wind farm construction to
resume. He announced the legal action at the Connecticut State Building Trades
Council’s annual convention at Mohegan Sun, where he spoke to the union
members.
“Revolution Wind shows us there’s no amount of hiding and
pacifying and lying down and just being quiet that’s going to help us,” Tong
said, referring to President Donald Trump’s administration. “They know we’re
here. They’re coming for our project. They’re coming for our jobs. We just have
to stand up and fight.”
The attorney general said he expected the injunction to have
an “immediate” effect while they pursue a broader lawsuit challenging the
stop-work order issued by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on Aug. 22.
That order brought construction to a halt when Revolution Wind was 80%
complete, citing unspecified “national security” concerns.
Tong called the decision “unlawful,” arguing it reopened
issues already resolved during the project’s nine-year permitting process.
The U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees the
bureau, declined to comment on the litigation.
Revolution Wind is at an advanced construction phase, with
all underwater foundations and 47 of 65 turbines already installed. Located
about 15 nautical miles off Point Judith, Rhode Island, the wind farm is
designed to generate enough electricity for 350,000 homes. Once operational
next year, it would supply 2.5% of New England’s energy needs, according to the
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
This project was just one target of Trump’s crackdown on the
wind energy industry, which included freezing new
project approvals, suspending others under construction and eliminating
industry-related subsidies.
Tong filed the lawsuit jointly
with Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha on Sept. 4, the same day
project developers launched their own federal court battle. The developers —
Danish energy giant Ørsted and Skyborn Renewables — a BlackRock subsidiary,
sued the Trump administration in Washington, D.C.
In its court complaint,
the company stated it had invested approximately $5 billion in the project and
warned if the specialized vessels required for Revolution Wind leave New
London’s State Pier for other commitments, the delay could last more than a
year or force cancellation.
The legal offensive came after behind-the-scenes diplomacy
failed. Tong revealed that Gov. Ned Lamont initially requested time to
negotiate directly with U.S. Interior Secretary Douglas Burgum, leveraging
their relationship from Burgum’s tenure as North Dakota governor, before suing.
“They wanted me to give them space to make moves, and that’s
fair,” Tong said. “But then two days later, I called the governor and he’s
like, ‘These guys, they don’t want a solution. They don’t want to get there.
They just want to stop this thing.’”
Earlier that day, Lamont addressed the same union gathering.
The governor, who described himself as “a pretty patient guy” working hard on
relations with the Trump administration, said the project suspension damages
labor, consumers, grid reliability and business interests.
“You just can’t trust this administration. This
administration is in many ways hostile to business,” Lamont said. “This is
crony capitalism.”
Lamont had previously pointed to Empire Wind as a potential
model for resolution. That Norwegian Equinor project in New York state was
suspended in April but resumed a month later following negotiations between
Trump and Gov. Kathy Hochul. The agreement included approval for the
Constitution gas pipeline linking
Pennsylvania to New York, a project cancelled in 2020.
According to DEEP, Revolution Wind created about 1,200 local
jobs, including more than 100 at New London State Pier.
Revolution Wind is the second project built at State Pier,
following South Fork, which started operating last
year. Ørsted also owns Sunrise Wind, a project that was expected to begin after
Revolution Wind but is now in limbo.
State Pier has been undergoing redevelopment since 2019 and
faced criticism because
its initial $93 million budget ballooned to over $300 million.
The decision to convert the facility into a dedicated
offshore wind energy platform has been criticized following the halt of
Revolution Wind, but the offshore wind industry was already struggling with
projects suspended in previous years. At the end of 2024, Connecticut decided
not to select any
projects from the tri-state auction it held with Massachusetts and
Rhode Island.
Lamont said after his speech to workers that he was
optimistic about State Pier’s future despite the downturn in the wind industry.
“I feel good about the future of State Pier. There’s
additional demand outside of wind for its use,” Lamont said. “We’ve been
holding off just because we hope that Revolution and then Sunrise will get back
on track.”
Housing
The governor also addressed his controversial veto of this
year’s housing legislation, a decision that has drawn sharp
backlash from pro-housing advocates.
The governor acknowledged housing costs were one of the
biggest complaints in the state — “next to electric prices” — and that he hoped
to have a new version of the bill debated in a special session this year.
“I had some concerns about the bill presented to me by the
legislature. I’ll be blunt, just because the first selectmen, the mayors,
thought it was really heavy-handed,” Lamont said. “The legislature thinks
they’ll not be heavy-handed because they don’t think they’re willing to do
enough.”
Lamont said he had received lots of input from mayors and
first selectmen in small towns, describing them as “surprisingly responsive”
and saying they contributed “very constructive ideas.”
“We’ve got that incorporated into a response that’s in the
bill that’s sitting with legislative leaders now,” Lamont said. “We’re just
waiting to hear back from them.”
Developer proposes technology center on former Pawcatuck cinema site
Carrie Czerwinski
Stonington — The Architectural Review Board on Monday
unanimously approved the design of an 80,000-square-foot technology center on
Route 2 in Pawcatuck that members referred to as “groundbreaking” and
“innovative.”
READCO of Old Lyme proposes to construct the Stonington
Technology Center, a four-story building with office, conference, research and
development space on the former Hoyt’s/Regal Cinema property.
“It’s really an important point to see that it is intended
to be an extension of the village. People can work here, they can live here,
they can recreate here, it’s just cohesive,” READCO owner Mike Lech told the
board members.
Meanwhile Stonington Village, a 232-unit
residential, retail, professional and medical office space, is being
developed on the same property.
Both projects are part of a Neighborhood
Design District, a floating zone that requires a master plan for the site
and provides the commission with a great deal of discretion about various
aspects of the project.
The technology center is part of a Master Plan amendment for
the district and must be approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
READCO, which has owned the movie theater property since
1995, built the theater along with a Stop & Shop supermarket, McDonald’s
restaurant, bank and Stonington Medical Center offices. The theater closed in
September 2022 when Regal went bankrupt.
The technology center would be constructed on the corner of
Liberty Street and Voluntown Road in place of a previously
approved 30,000-square-foot recreational pickleball facility, and an
abandoned home on the property. The home will be demolished and a path will
connect the building to the rest of the village.
Lech said the pickleball facility will still be built, but
it would now be located farther north on Route 2 on other parcels his company
recently acquired.
A technology center is a shared space with offices, labs and
specialized facilities that brings businesses and researchers under one roof to
collaborate, develop and test new ideas. While many centers may host
manufacturing spaces, the Pawcatuck facility will not.
The interior will feature office space, conference rooms and
various types of laboratory spaces suitable for research and development as
well as a cafeteria, and the exterior will feature metal and brick for a
contemporary look intended to attract technology companies, according to
Kristen Robbins, lead architect with BL Companies.
“This is sort of a groundbreaking, technology, innovative,
progressive architecture,” said Architectural Review Board Chairman Michael
McKinley on Monday.
Additionally, the parking lot, with a driveway off Voluntown
Road, will feature 322 spaces dotted with shade trees and plantings and
surrounded by a 6-foot fence while a proposed sidewalk which will encircle the
entire neighborhood, said Landscape Architect Dominic Celtruda.
McKinley noted that he appreciated the company’s effort to
provide pedestrian access around the development, specifically along Route 2,
which he said is not a pedestrian-friendly environment.
He added the READCO project can be a guide for future
developers.
Speaking after Monday's meeting, Lech addressed resident
concerns about Stonington Village’s proximity to a sole-source aquifer that
provides drinking water for Pawcatuck and Westerly residents.
A sole-source aquifer is an Environmental Protection Agency
designation for a source of water in an area that has no other reasonable
source of drinking water should the aquifer become contaminated.
Lech said protecting the groundwater is a priority, and
Stonington Village will use the same type of storm water management system that
was previously in place on the property, specifically because it has worked
well for 25 years.
“Even when that place was empty because it went bankrupt, we
were still protecting the groundwater because we don’t leave. This is our home
too,” he said.