Section 16a-3n - Solicitation re energy derived from offshore wind facilities that are Class I renewable energy sources(a)(1) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, in consultation with the procurement manager identified in subsection (l) of section 16-2, the Office of Consumer Counsel and the Attorney General, may, in coordination with other states in the control area of the regional independent system operator, as defined in section 16-1, in coordination with states in a neighboring control area or on behalf of Connecticut alone, solicit proposals, in one solicitation or multiple solicitations, from providers of energy derived from offshore wind facilities that are Class I renewable energy sources, as defined in section 16-1, and any associated transmission, provided the commissioner shall initiate a solicitation not later than fourteen days after the effective date of this section for projects that have a total nameplate capacity rating of up to two thousand megawatts in the aggregate. Any such solicitation or solicitations issued pursuant to this section on and after January 1, 2020, shall be for quantities of energy and within the timing and schedule determined by the commissioner, and may be informed by the Integrated Resources Plan prepared on or before January 1, 2020, pursuant to subsections (b) and (j) of section 16a-3a, provided such schedule shall provide for the solicitation of resources with a nameplate capacity rating of two thousand megawatts in the aggregate by December 31, 2030.(2) In developing any solicitations pursuant to this section, the commissioner shall include requirements for contract commitments in selected bids that (A) require payment of not less than the prevailing wage, as described in section 31-53, for laborers, workmen and mechanics performing construction activities within the United States with respect to the project, and (B) require selected bidders to engage in a good faith negotiation of a project labor agreement. Any solicitation issued pursuant to this section shall specify the minimum terms that such project labor agreements shall address.(3) In any solicitation initiated pursuant to this section on or after July 1, 2024, the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall include requirements for contract commitments in selected bids that require bidders selected pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, including any providers of associated transmission, when employing or contracting with fishermen for support services such as scouting for fishing gear or serving as a safety vessel in a construction zone, for any project selected by the state or in proportion to the state share of any project selected by multiple states or other entities, to use best efforts to award such contracts or employment to state commercial fishing licensees, all other factors being equal. Such requirements shall include: (A) The maintenance of records that document the use of such best efforts and the filing of a monthly report with the Department of Economic and Community Development that describes such best efforts, on a form prescribed by said department; and (B) a provision that any fishermen that such providers employ or contract with to provide support services shall: (i) Meet training and certification standards described in the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, as amended from time to time; and (ii) prior to providing any such support services, undergo inspection in accordance with the International Marine Contractors Association's marine inspection for small workboats inspection document. The Coast Guard or any inspector accredited through the accredited vessel inspector program operated by the Marine Surveying Academy of the International Institute of Marine Surveying may conduct such an inspection.(4)(A) In responding to any solicitations issued pursuant to this section, a bidder shall include an environmental and fisheries mitigation plan for the construction and operation of such offshore wind facilities, provided such plan shall include, but not be limited to, an explicit description of the best management practices the bidder will employ that are informed by the latest science at the time the proposal is made that will avoid, minimize and mitigate any impacts to wildlife, natural resources, ecosystems and traditional or existing water-dependent uses, including, but not limited to, commercial fishing.(B) In responding to any solicitations issued pursuant to this section, a bidder may include such bidder's plans for the use of skilled labor, including, but not limited to, for any construction and manufacturing components of the proposal including any outreach, hiring and referral systems, or any combination thereof, that are affiliated with an apprenticeship training program registered with the Labor Department pursuant to section 31-22r.(C) In responding to any solicitations issued pursuant to this section in calendar year 2019, each bidder shall submit at least one proposal for resources eligible pursuant to this section with a nameplate capacity rating of four hundred megawatts. The commissioner may not consider or select any proposals from a bidder that does not submit at least one proposal for resources with a nameplate capacity of four hundred megawatts for any solicitation issued pursuant to this section in calendar year 2019.(5) For each solicitation issued pursuant to this section, the commissioner shall establish a commission on environmental standards to provide input on best practices for avoiding, minimizing and mitigating any impacts to wildlife, natural resources, ecosystems and traditional or existing water-dependent uses, including, but not limited to, commercial fishing, during the construction and operation of facilities eligible pursuant to this section.(b) In making any selection of such proposals, the commissioner shall consider factors, including, but not limited to, (1) whether the proposal is in the best interest of ratepayers, including, but not limited to, the delivered price of such sources, (2) whether the proposal promotes electric distribution system reliability, including during winter peak demand, (3) any positive impacts on the state's economic development, (4) whether the proposal is consistent with the requirements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with section 22a-200a, (5) whether the proposal is consistent with the policy goals outlined in the Comprehensive Energy Strategy adopted pursuant to section 16a-3d and the Integrated Resources Plan adopted pursuant to section 16a-3a, (6) whether the proposal is consistent with the goals and policies set forth in sections 22a-92 and 25-157t, and (7) whether the proposal uses practices to avoid, minimize and mitigate impacts to wildlife, natural resources, ecosystems and traditional or existing water-dependent uses, including, but not limited to, commercial fishing. In considering whether a proposal has any positive impacts on the state's economic development, the commissioner shall consult with the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development. The commissioner may select proposals from such resources that have a total nameplate capacity rating of not more than two thousand megawatts in the aggregate.(c) The commissioner may direct the electric distribution companies to enter into power purchase agreements for energy, capacity, any transmission associated with such energy derived from offshore wind facilities that are Class I renewable energy sources as defined in section 16-1 and environmental attributes, or any combination thereof, for periods of not more than twenty years on behalf of all customers of the state's electric distribution companies, except the commissioner may direct such companies to enter into such agreements for periods greater than twenty years and not more than thirty years if the commissioner conducts the solicitation pursuant to subsection (a) of this section in coordination with one or more states and, in response to such coordinated solicitation, the applicable officials of any such state select a proposal for energy, capacity and any environmental attributes, or any combination thereof, from such facilities for a period that is greater than twenty years and not more than thirty years. Certificates issued by the New England Power Pool Generation Information System for any Class I renewable energy sources procured by an electric distribution company pursuant to this section may be: (1) Sold into the New England Power Pool Generation Information System renewable energy credit market to be used by any electric supplier or electric distribution company to meet the requirements of section 16-245a, provided the revenues from such sale are credited to electric distribution company customers as described in this section; or (2) retained by the electric distribution company to meet the requirements of section 16-245a. In considering whether to sell or retain such certificates, the company shall select the option that is in the best interest of such company's ratepayers.(d) Any agreement entered into pursuant to this section shall be subject to review and approval by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, which review shall be completed not later than (1) ninety days after the date on which such agreement is filed with the authority for any solicitation issued pursuant to this section in calendar year 2019, and (2) one hundred twenty days for any solicitation issued pursuant to this section on and after January 1, 2020. The authority shall approve agreements that it determines (A) provide for the delivery of adequate and reliable products and services, for which there is a clear public need, at a just and reasonable price, (B) are prudent and cost effective, and (C) are between an electric distribution company and a respondent to the solicitation that has the technical, financial and managerial capabilities to perform pursuant to such agreement. The net costs of any such agreement, including costs incurred by the electric distribution companies under the agreement and reasonable costs incurred by the electric distribution companies in connection with the agreement, shall be recovered through a fully reconciling component of electric rates for all customers of electric distribution companies. Any net revenues from the sale of products purchased in accordance with long-term contracts entered into pursuant to this section shall be credited to customers through the same fully reconciling rate component for all customers of the contracting electric distribution company. The commissioner may hire consultants with expertise in quantitative modeling of electric and gas markets to assist in implementing this section, including, but not limited to, the evaluation of proposals submitted pursuant to this section. All reasonable costs associated with the commissioner's solicitation and review of proposals pursuant to this section shall be recoverable through the same fully reconciling rate component for all customers of the electric distribution companies.Conn. Gen. Stat. § 16a-3n
Amended by P.A. 24-0038,S. 2 of the Connecticut Acts of the 2024 Regular Session, eff. 5/21/2024.Amended by P.A. 21-0141, S. 11 of the Connecticut Acts of the 2021 Regular Session, eff. 10/1/2021.Added by P.A. 19-0071, S. 1 of the Connecticut Acts of the 2019 Regular Session, eff. 6/7/2019.