Vineyard Offshore, an offshore wind development company, has submitted a proposal, Vineyard Wind 2, for a 1,200 MW offshore wind project to Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island responding to the New England states’ solicitation for up to 6,800 MW of offshore wind capacity. The proposed project will deliver 1,200 MW of clean, reliable energy to the New England grid, enough to power more than 650,000 homes, beginning 2031. It will also avoid 2.1 million tons of CO2 emissions per year across the region, equivalent to removing 414,000 cars from the road, as well as improve air quality and reduce pollution-related health costs and environmental impacts. Vineyard Offshore has proposed a comprehensive multi-state project to provide substantial investments in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, responding to the New England solicitation’s aim of creating cross-cutting regional economic impact.

https://www.tdworld.com/renewables/article/55001344/vineyard-offshore-submits-proposal-for-1200-mw-offshore-wind-project-in-new-england

Hartford HealthCare will use up to $150 million in new debt financing to fund significant upgrades at its various hospitals and a new proton therapy center it’s developing in Wallingford in partnership with Yale New Haven Health. The debt is being issued through the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority (CHEFA), a quasi-public state agency that issues tax-exempt bonds and debt on behalf of nonprofit institutions. Since nearly all Connecticut hospitals are nonprofit organizations, they have access to tax-exempt debt issuances, which makes borrowing cheaper and more affordable. Yale New Haven Health, Hartford HealthCare and Proton International announced in April 2022 that they secured final approval to build and open the $75 million Connecticut Proton Therapy Center, which will provide an advanced form of cancer radiation treatment. Their new goal is to break ground on the project in the coming months and have it completed in 2026.

Hartford HealthCare to use $150M in new debt financing for systemwide facility upgrades

Mayor Harry Rilling and Superintendent of Schools Alexandra Estrella both described the high level of reimbursement as “unheard of” as they stood amid large excavators, mounds of dirt and metal beams at the rear of Norwalk High School, next to the turf field. With that reimbursement rate, Norwalk’s taxpayers will be responsible for $47.8 million of the $239 million project’s cost. The city’s commitment to developments in its housing, transportation and education creates a desirable hub in Norwalk, Gov. Ned Lamont said at the ceremony. The new school will be constructed where the Testa Field Complex is currently located. A new athletic facility will be built on the site of the existing school, which will be demolished, according to the project website.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/education/article/new-norwalk-high-school-groundbreaking-ceremony-pt-19373937.php

Connecticut energy officials and their counterparts in Massachusetts and Rhode Island have received offshore wind project proposals from four developers: Avangrid Renewables, Orsted, SouthCoast Wind and Vineyard Offshore. The developers submitted their bids on Wednesday, and Connecticut officials say they are reviewing the proposals. Details of the plans were not immediately available. The first project developer, Avangrid Renewables, is a subsidiary of the Orange-based energy holding company Avangrid, while Orsted is a Danish energy company. SouthCoast Wind is a joint venture by EDP Renewables, a Spanish energy company and ENGIE, which is based in France. Officials in the three states announced last October they would form a consortium to evaluate wind power proposals from developers. Collectively, the three states are seeking 6,800 megawatts with Connecticut looking for up to 2,000 megawatts of that total.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/ct-new-offshore-wind-power-plans-ri-mass-19373412.php

A developer who sought to increase the size of an already approved apartment building planned for Lordship Boulevard has agreed to keep the structure at 100 units, but has been allowed to tweak the number of affordable apartments. The Stratford Zoning Commission on Wednesday voted unanimously to approve updated plans from Stamford-based Empire Residential to construct the building next to an old hotel at 225 Lordship Blvd., which the company previously converted into an apartment building. The application was filed under state statute 8-30g, which allows developers to bypass local zoning laws and regulations — including height restrictions — if at least 30 percent of the project’s units are set aside for affordable housing. The building is part of a larger redevelopment of the once-dilapidated 4.7-acre site. The structure is set to be built directly adjacent to a relatively new 69-unit apartment building that previously housed the Stratford Hotel and Conference Center.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/stratford-approves-updated-plans-100-unit-19375504.php

The federal government is expected to bail out a delayed, over-budget South End flood control initiative, but the release of the dollars, and actual construction, are still months away. The massive coastal flood risk reduction initiative was launched locally after the destruction Hurricane Sandy caused in the South End in 2012. Once installed, the infrastructure network of new pumping stations, flood walls, raised streets and other related improvements are not only intended to safeguard lives and property, but expected to significantly lower flood insurance costs, spurring more private investment in the area. But the hope that Resilient Bridgeport initially inspired for the South End’s future has over the years given way to some frustration with the slow pace of the ongoing design process and the subsequent spike in the originally estimated budget. Over a year ago state officials applied for the additional $47.5 million from FEMA. And the grant is not quite a done deal.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/more-fed-dollars-coming-for-bridgeport-flooding-19375419.php

Norwich Public Utilities officials presented a proposed $105.9 million 2024-25 budget for all four of its service divisions that calls for a decrease in spending of $3.89 million, a 3.67% drop from this year’s budget. A five-year, $200 million upgrade of the city sewage treatment plant started this year, and planned major upgrades to the city’s drinking water and natural gas systems are budgeted next year. Wholesale purchased natural gas is budgeted at $2.5 million, down from $5.6 million in the 2023-24 fiscal year, and purchased power cost is budgeted at $31.8 million, down from $35.5 million this year. The drop mainly is due to the dramatic reduction in the cost of purchased wholesale power and natural gas. Those decreases come after spikes in wholesale power costs in recent years, caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and gas line transmission issues. The Board of Public Utilities Commissioners did not act on the proposed budget. NPU officials will present the proposed budget to the City Council during a workshop Tuesday, and the utilities commission is expected to vote on the budget either at its April 23 or May 28 meeting.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240327/norwich-public-utilities-proposed-budget-would-drop-by-3-89-million-next-year/

Nearly a year after some of the region’s largest offshore wind developers began making noises about pulling out of their projects because of increased costs, and six months after they actually did, a new round of bidding coordinated among three states appears to show that interest in developing offshore wind is still strong, even with larger price tags. A three-state solicitation by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island received project proposals from four different developers by the Wednesday deadline, two of which essentially rebid the projects they’d pulled out of. To Connecticut’s disadvantage, only one of the proposals designates the port of New London for construction and staging of the project. The rest plan to use ports in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection declined to comment on that, providing a statement that noted it would be reviewing the proposals. The largest set of proposals came from Avangrid — parent of United Illuminating and the American arm of the Spain-based energy powerhouse Iberdrola. Avangrid’s Vineyard Wind 1 project off Massachusetts is under construction and already delivering power to that state.

Plans for offshore wind power blow back into New England

Ørsted, the Danish energy company staging offshore wind projects at State Pier, announced Wednesday it has pitched a proposal for its biggest U.S. wind farm to date with New London as its base. The Danish wind giant was one of four companies to announce bids in the tri-state solicitation. Avangrid, SouthCoast Wind and Vineyard Offshore also made proposals as part of an auction in which the three states combined could enter power purchase agreements of up to 6,800 megawatts of offshore wind power. Vineyard Offshore, partnered with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, submitted a proposal to all three states for the 1,200-megawatt Vineyard Wind 2. SouthCoast Wind said it plans to develop an offshore lease area in two phases with the potential to generate more than 2,400 MW of wind power, enough to power more than 1 million homes, in a lease area 30 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and 20 miles south of Nantucket. Ørsted said it planned to use State Pier for staging and assembly of its new wind farm, which would power up to 600,000 homes. Ørsted and partner Eversource have already committed to using the newly revamped State Pier, which it leases, for work on three offshore wind projects.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240327/orsted-bids-new-offshore-wind-project-for-state-pier-in-new-london/

The Cedar Street bridge has reopened to downtown motorists after reconstruction, and workers have uncovered another section of Harbor Brook. But as the city moves toward expanding the Meriden Green to Cedar Street to create a sensory park, it is stymied by a lack of funding after several failed attempts to secure $5.5 million in state grants. The flood control project included bridge replacements on Cooper Street, Cook, Perkins, Coe and Bradley avenues and Cedar Street. The channel expansion will continue to the Center Street bridge where the rebuild is more involved and will likely take longer. There is considerably more utility work on that site that needs to be completed before construction begins. Mill Street will not close until the green expansion begins.
Completing the Cedar Street bridge project before starting on the larger Center Street project also facilitates a smoother transition while that roadway is closed.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/recordjournal/article/cedar-street-bridge-meriden-brook-park-19368866.php