While the Offshore Wind Industry Cluster in Connecticut was not among 21 economic development projects the federal government picked to each receive between $25 million and $65 million, its partners vow to continue their work to shore up the burgeoning local offshore wind industry, though perhaps in a scaled-back form. Heading up a coalition, the Southeastern Connecticut Enterprise Region (seCTer) put forth a portfolio of projects totaling $59 million, asking for $39 million in the Economic Development Administration’s $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge to offset $20 million in matching funds. Talking in January, between when the OWIC was selected as a finalist in the federal challenge and when it submitted a proposal for phase 2 funding, University of Connecticut’s Kylene Perras said if they didn’t receive the funding “we’ll be sad, we will be disappointed, but certainly we won’t stop; we’ll continue to explore what may be available.” Perras, assistant dean at the UConn School of Engineering, said this past week that UConn will continue to brainstorm how to move forward.
https://www.theday.com/local-news/20220918/offshore-wind-partners-move-forward-despite-missing-out-on-grant/