Blue States Consider Backing Fossil Fuels to Save Wind Farms
Georgia Hall, Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Josh Eidelson
(Bloomberg) -- Governors in the US Northeast are considering dropping resistance to natural gas pipelines and other fossil fuel projects in the hopes they can convince President Donald Trump to allow offshore wind farms to move forward.
The Democratic governors of Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts are racing to save wind projects worth billions of dollars along the East Coast after the Trump administration halted construction of one and is moving to rescind permits for others.
Governors and wind supporters have brainstormed ideas of potential concessions that could be offered up during any negotiation with Trump over imperiled projects. That includes small modular nuclear reactor projects and fossil-fuel infrastructure, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
One of the potential options that’s been floated is supporting Enbridge Inc.’s planned $300 million expansion of the Algonquin Gas Transmission pipeline system, the people said. Not all of the states have endorsed all the ideas.
“The New England governors are ready to step up if we can find a solution,” Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont said in an interview. “Let’s say the Trump administration likes nuclear power. I like it, too.”
But their efforts to set up a meeting with Trump have so far been stymied, according to Lamont, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey and Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee. The governors say they would be open to considering traditional energy projects that are more popular with Trump, such as gas pipelines and nuclear power.
The Northeast governors’ launched their entreaties after the Interior Department’s Aug. 22 stop-work order halting construction at the 80%-constructed Revolution wind project being built near Rhode Island by Denmark’s Orsted A/S and Global Infrastructure Partners. The Trump administration has subsequently said it’s also reconsidering a permit issued for the SouthCoast Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts and started working to withdraw its approval for the New England Wind 1 and 2 offshore farms planned near Nantucket that are being developed by Iberdrola SA’s subsidiary Avangrid Inc.
The governors are seeking the kind of summit that helped resolve a similar move by the Trump administration against Equinor’s Empire Wind project near New York earlier this year. In a deal that saved that wind farm, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signaled the state wouldn’t stand in the way of new energy projects, opening up a pathway for natural gas pipelines, Bloomberg News reported in May.
Massachusetts Governor Healey has said she would consider any proposals for new gas pipelines sent her way and supports a petition by utility company Eversource Energy for state approval to participate in the Enbridge expansion project.
Rhode Island, Connecticut and the Orsted wind farm venture have also sued the Trump administration in an effort to revive construction of the Revolution project.
The Trump administration is always in contact with state officials on key issues for their constituencies, a senior administration official said, adding that Trump has restored American energy dominance, supporting thousands of jobs nationwide that pay well.
Administration officials haven’t yet presented a clear ask to Revolution’s supporters, instead citing broad “national security” concerns in formal correspondence about the endeavor. The project — like others planned along the East Coast, including a Virginia venture near naval operations in Norfolk — was already scrutinized by the Pentagon before the Interior Department issued permits under former President Joe Biden. Energy Secretary Wright on Friday described an “active dialogue” in the administration on the fate of Revolution.
Trump administration officials have also emphasized the potential outsize cost of electricity from offshore wind projects that were prioritized for their zero-emission benefits under Biden. The US needs more power, but they argue that should come from reliable, always-on coal plants and other generators not subject to sunsets and weather patterns.
The federal government should be “working with states, not against states, in an effort to bring more power on board,” Healey said in an interview earlier this month. “Everyone in America is dealing with the high cost of energy,” she said, adding that more electricity is also needed to power data centers.
Still, the politicization of wind farms has made it more difficult for the Northeast governors and other wind advocates to recruit allies. Hedge funds and banks involved in financing offshore wind projects have been reluctant to get involved, said people familiar with the matter. Renewable advocates say wind projects are essential to helping satisfy data centers’ voracious electricity needs while still providing consumers with cheap power and allowing technology giants to claim some sort of progress on their environmental goals. Major backers of artificial intelligence haven’t yet publicly come to the defense of wind farms.
Some Republican lawmakers have appealed to the White House to try and mobilize stalled conversations, according to Rhode Island Congressman Seth Magaziner, a Democrat. That outreach is tied to warnings about the economic damage wrought by the moves, he said.
“They could be exposing American taxpayers to billions of dollars of liability if this project is permanently stalled,” Magaziner said. “It’s also just not a good look to have 45 already constructed wind turbines off the coast, not spinning and not delivering power. It would be an emblem of the administration’s dysfunction, to have those sitting out there dormant.”
While Trump has long been a turbine foe — having famously fought a planned project in view of his Scottish golf course — the administration’s accelerated moves against the nascent US offshore wind industry are clashing with his simultaneous boasts that the White House’s economic policies are fostering trillions of dollars in investments, creating new jobs and lowering energy costs.
The New England Wind 1 and 2 developments have been expected to create 9,200 jobs and deliver $8 billion in direct investment across the region, according to Iberdola.
Deliveries are still being made to Revolution Wind project sites, and specialized union workers remain under contract, even if they’re not working. But it’s not clear how long that will last as Revolution bleeds money, and as project developers go to court to fight the stall. Orsted shareholders this month approved a crucial 60 billion Danish kroner ($9.4 billion) rights offering to help steady the company’s finances as it grapples with the fallout of the government’s efforts to halt wind development.
“At some point the developer is going to say, ‘We have lost enough money – we are done,’ said Patrick Crowley, president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO.
Building trades unions whose members are affected by the stalled development of wind farms have also reached out to the White House and others in the Trump Administration, and they too haven’t had a meaningful response back, according to a union official familiar with the situation.
“Mr. President, this is not about politics, it is about jobs, energy security and American leadership,” Louis Antonellis, the business manager of IBEW, Local 103, wrote in a letter to Trump asking him to reconsider the withdrawal of federal funding for a Massachusetts port project to support offshore wind. It would have created as much as 800 construction jobs.
U.S. Navy announces plans to replace a pier at submarine base in southeastern CT
Paul Schott
The U.S. Navy will replace a pier at the submarine base in southeastern Connecticut, the latest of a series of infrastructure upgrades at the hub on the Thames River.
Navy officials announced last week the awarding of a contract to replace Pier 31 at Naval Submarine Base New London, with the project expected to be completed by November 2027. The contract is worth about $87.8 million, but its maximum value would be around $95.6 million, including options.
The project will extend by 90 feet the length of Pier 31, which measures 70 feet wide by 500 feet long and was constructed in 2012. The upgrade is essential for supporting not only the Los Angeles-class and Virginia-class submarines already homeported at the 10-pier base, but also future vessels, according to Navy officials.
Weeks-Cashman JV is the project’s contractor, according to the contract announcement. An official with Quincy, Massachusetts-based Cashman Dredging & Marine Contracting Co., confirmed in an email Tuesday that the company was part of the joint venture with Weeks Marine, but did not immediately provide additional comment.
Among previous undertakings at the base, the replacement of Pier 32 was completed in November 2022. Designing for the replacement of Pier 8 is underway, but its construction has not yet been funded, according to Navy officials.
The submarines stationed at the base include the USS Iowa, a Virginia-class ship that was commissioned in April.
USS Iowa was built by General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is headquartered a few miles down the river from the base. Electric Boat has completed 13 Virginia-class submarines, whose capabilities include anti-submarine and surface-ship warfare, as well as special-operations support. Among recent contracts, it was awarded last spring modifications worth about $12.4 billion for the construction of another two Virginia-class vessels.
A total of about 6,000 sailors and civilians work daily at Naval Submarine Base New London. It became the country’s nation’s first, permanent continental submarine base in 1916.
While the base has New London in its name, in reference to the city on the west bank of the Thames River, it is located in Groton, which is on the river’s east bank.
Michael Puffer
Major demolition work is expected to begin soon at East Hartford’s Founders Plaza, more than two years after plans were announced for a mixed-use redevelopment along the Connecticut River that could bring about 1,000 apartments and 400,000 square feet of commercial space.
Town officials on Tuesday night are set to select a demolition contractor to begin tearing down the 182,890-square-foot former Bank of America office building at 20 Hartland St., along with a 126,000-square-foot parking garage that is attached to a separate 19-story office tower at 323 Pitkin St.
The Pitkin Street office building will not be demolished.
The demolitions will mark the first visible signs of the “Port Eastside” redevelopment, which has been envisioned by a group of regional investors who have been acquiring property in the 50-year-old office park over the past two years.
East Hartford has committed $6.5 million in state funding to cover part of the demolition costs. Under the agreement, the developers must secure a building permit for an apartment building of at least 150 units within four years. If not, the state grant will convert to a loan with interest tied to the 15-year Treasury rate plus 4%.
The first major construction phase calls for a $90 million redevelopment of the 19-story office tower at 323 Pitkin St., also known as 111 Founders Plaza, into 240 apartments. The conversion is expected to take about 30 months to complete.
The investor group includes Bruce and Harris Simons of Simons Real Estate Group; Jim Manafort, president of Manafort Brothers Inc.; Peter S. Roisman, head of Houston-based REV Leasing; Nicholas Michnevitz III, president of MBH Architecture; Jeffrey S. Hoffman, co-chairman of Hoffman Auto Group; Chris Reilly, president of Lexington Partners; and Alan Lazowski, chairman and founder of LAZ Parking.
“The clearing and cleaning up of these two properties will be the first step in the multi-year transformation of East Hartford’s side of the Connecticut River,” Bruce Simons said Tuesday morning in a statement to HBJ. “There is a great deal of work that needs to be done to prepare the site and build the infrastructure that will support the residences, businesses and features here that will echo and complement the attractions across from us in Hartford, and we are very grateful to be working with Mayor Martin and his staff to take these first steps together.”
Weston & Sampson, the town’s engineering firm, has recommended Stamford Wrecking Co. as the demolition contractor. The company, which was among eight bidders, submitted the low bid of $4.8 million.
Eileen Buckheit, East Hartford’s director of development, said a vote by the town’s Committee of Award is expected Tuesday. Contract and insurance arrangements will follow, along with hazardous material abatement before demolition can begin.
The buildings are expected to be cleared by February, Buckheit said. The space will eventually be used for future ground-up development.
Wallingford rejects proposal to develop 3 warehouses on property near I-91
David Krechevsky
A proposal to develop three warehouses on 47 acres on Barnes Road in Wallingford was rejected Monday night by the Planning & Zoning Commission.
The project sought to develop the warehouses on combined properties at 1000, 1020, 1030, 1044 and 1080 Barnes Road, all of which are owned by Midwood Management Corp.
Midwood Management sought a special permit to construct three buildings in three phases — two 157,000-square-foot warehouses and a 100,000-square-foot warehouse. The buildings would be located close to Route 68, just over a mile east of Exit 15 of Interstate 91.
Monday night, the commission completed and closed a public hearing that had opened in June and had been continued three times.
After closing the hearing, the commission rejected a motion to approve the project by a 3-2 vote, with Commissioner Jeffrey Kohan and alternates Bryan Rivard and Joseph Sanders voting against approval. Chairman Jim Seichter and Commissioner James Fitzsimmons voted to approve.
A significant audience of town residents applauded and cheered when Sanders cast the deciding no vote.
Commission members voting against the project cited concerns about truck traffic and the impact on surrounding residential neighborhoods and the nearby North Farms Reservoir, which serves as a summer breeding area for eagles and ospreys.
Commissioners also were concerned that the developers did not yet have tenants for the warehouses, making it difficult to know what might be stored in them and how that might affect traffic to and from the buildings.