The US east coast state of Connecticut has issued a draft request for proposals (RFP) for up to 2GW of offshore wind, ahead of the final solicitation due out next month.
The draft RFP, which is required by the state’s recently passed offshore wind energy legislation, is available for review and comments by 15 July.
The Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) will review any comments before the final solicitation is released on 15 August.
Business Network for Offshore Wind chief executive Liz Burdock said: “We congratulate the state of Connecticut for moving so quickly in preparing their first major Draft RFP for offshore wind energy.
“I believe this solicitation will accelerate the region’s investments in ports like New London and Bridgeport, and allow Connecticut suppliers to be active participants in the regional offshore wind supply chain.”
The deadline for the submission of written questions to DEEP, after the solicitation is launched is 30 August 2019 and the Notice of Intent to Bid form is also due on that date.
DEEP will release responses to questions by 15 September, ahead of the bid due date on 30 September.
The department will announce the solicitation decision in November.
DEEP has convened a Commission on Environmental Standards as required by legislation to review the best available research and data on environmental and commercial fisheries mitigation during offshore wind construction and operation.
The Commission will make recommendations on what a sufficient environmental mitigation plan should include and has been invited by DEEP to review the draft RFP and comment on the requirements for an environmental and fisheries mitigation plan as outlined in the draft RFP.
In the same notice as the draft RFP DEEP is also accepting public comment on questions concerning decommissioning and also interconnection.
One of the questions is about whether the final RFP should require a decommissioning plan that removes all structures, including all piles and foundations to 30 feet below the sea bed, removal of any debris resulting from demolition activities, and return of the seabed composition to pre-construction conditions.
The agency has also asked if a decommission plan requirement should be a threshold criteria or a qualitative factor in the RFP and implications of including, or not including the requirement in the RFP.
The other question posed in the draft RFP is whether final solicitation should require electricity delivery into Connecticut, as opposed to interconnect anywhere within the Independent System Operator North-East (ISO-NE) control area or adjoining control areas.