Offshore

Eversource gets grant for offshore wind hub

Eversource gets grant for offshore wind hub
Site of proposed Huntsbrook Offshore Wind Hub (Courtesy: Business Wire)

Eversource Energy has announced it was recently awarded $89 million in federal grants for its Huntsbrook Offshore Wind (OSW) Hub. The money stems from the second round of funding of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Innovation Program, which provides $5 billion through 2026 to support projects using innovative approaches to transmission, storage, and distribution infrastructure to enhance grid resilience and reliability. 

You may recall the Huntsbrook OSW Hub proposal from the Power Up New England project portfolio announced earlier this month. Those projects were selected to receive $389 million in total funding through the DOE program to support New England’s clean energy transition while improving grid reliability across the region.

The Huntsbrook OSW Hub will involve constructing a new 345 kV switching station in southeastern Connecticut at Huntsbrook Junction in Montville, Connecticut, which will establish a new point of interconnection for future offshore wind developers to deliver 2,400 MW of offshore wind via high-voltage transmission lines from the offshore wind farm to the Hub. It will utilize existing utility property and rights of way to avoid unnecessary environmental impacts and significant disruptions to local communities, according to Eversource.

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Eversource expects to develop and submit requests for necessary permits for the Huntsbrook Offshore Wind Hub starting in late 2024 with review processes that could last through 2027. Pending receipt of all necessary permits per phase of work, the company anticipates construction to commence in 2028 and continue through 2031.

“The U.S. Department of Energy recognized the significance of the Power Up New England portfolio – including our Huntsbrook project – and awarded a transformational investment in clean energy transmission and storage infrastructure that will improve grid reliability, accelerate renewable energy integration, and reduce energy burdens across New England,” said Eversource president of transmission and offshore wind projects, Bill Quinlan. “We appreciate the collaboration shown by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and our other Power Up partners and are looking forward to continuing to work closely with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to advance our project, which will deliver resounding local economic and community benefits to Connecticut as we work to achieve the state’s clean energy goals and reduce carbon emissions in the coming years.”

According to an independent analysis conducted by the University of Connecticut, the project will create thousands of jobs and will allow Connecticut ratepayers to save money on utility bills through lower wholesale electric costs. The project has committed $4 million to establish the Connecticut Institute for Clean Energy at UConn, which is meant to help to expand the sustainable energy workforce in the state and region through scholarships, real-world engagement on offshore wind projects, and certificate programs relating to offshore wind, with a particular focus on engagement with individuals from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds. A further $1 million will be allocated for direct community benefits to the host communities – focusing on the key principles of community and labor engagement, diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA), and the Justice40 Initiative.

Eversource has fingerprints all over the offshore wind industry in the Northeast. Eversource led the transmission construction for South Fork Wind in Long Island, New York, about 35 miles off the coast of Montauk. Ørsted and Eversource finished that 130 MW project earlier this year, making it the first completed utility-scale offshore wind farm in the U.S.

Eversource is also leading the transmission construction for Revolution Wind, which will provide power to Connecticut and Rhode Island. Revolution Wind’s timeline has recently been pushed to 2026 because it’s taking longer than expected for Eversource to clear out buried waste and contaminated soil on the site of a decommissioned naval air station that is set to become a new substation.

Last month, Eversource completed the sale of its 50% ownership share in the 924-MW Sunrise Wind project to Ørsted. Sunrise Wind has completed all major federal and state permitting milestones and received approval of its Construction and Operations Plan (COP) from the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) in June; construction on the site is now underway.

Eversource is also working on its Cape Cod Solution – a co-optimized, multi-phase transmission program, the first phase of which is already in service – that will efficiently and cost-effectively strengthen Cape Cod’s electric grid while facilitating the integration of offshore wind energy.