A long-sought bill with bipartisan support that would require offshore wind developers to establish a compensation fund will get a hearing Wednesday before the legislature’s Energy and Technology Committee. The hearing was scheduled for Tuesday but postponed to 11 a.m. Wednesday due to an internet outage at the state Capitol. Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton, co-introduced House Bill 5223 with four Democratic state representatives, while three Republicans and two Democrats are co-sponsors. Local co-sponsors include Rep. Greg Howard, R-Stonington, and Rep. Devin Carney, R-Old Lyme. The Environment Committee in 2020 raised a bill establishing a fund to compensate commercial fishermen negatively impacted by offshore wind facilities, but a public hearing never happened because it was initially scheduled for March 16 – just as the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Representing the Ørsted-Eversource joint venture Revolution Wind, Nicole M. Verdi and Raymond V. Collins said the partnership has and will continue to work with the commercial fishing industry, and they raised several concerns about the bill.
https://www.theday.com/local-news/20230221/proposed-bill-would-make-offshore-wind-developers-create-compensation-fund/