Connecticut's renewable energy potential
Connecticut has significant renewable energy potential, primarily stemming from various untapped resources such as onshore and offshore wind, ocean power, biomass, landfill gas, hydroelectric, and thermal energy. Although the state currently relies heavily on fossil fuels and nuclear power to meet its energy needs, it has established ambitious goals to transition towards renewable sources. The state mandates that electric suppliers must derive at least 48% of their net energy from renewable sources by 2030, reflecting a commitment to increasing the use of clean energy technologies and enhancing energy efficiency.
Despite Connecticut's high electricity rates, which are among the highest in the United States, it is recognized for its high per capita investment in energy-efficient technologies. As of 2023, initiatives like Energize Connecticut have contributed to substantial savings for households through energy efficiency programs. However, a significant portion of the population still relies on fossil fuels for heating, highlighting the challenges in fully embracing renewable energy. Recent pilot projects aim to test innovative technologies that could further decarbonize the state's electrical grid, marking an important step in Connecticut's energy evolution. Overall, while the state's renewable energy infrastructure is still developing, the potential to significantly reduce reliance on traditional energy sources exists, making it an area of interest for future exploration and investment.
Subject Terms
Connecticut's renewable energy potential
Summary: Connecticut relies mainly on fossil fuels and nuclear power for energy, importing energy from other US states, but has considerable renewable energy potential and invests heavily in energy efficiency.
Located in the northeastern United States, Connecticut is among the most technologically advanced states in the nation. The state’s electricity requirements are met largely through fossil fuels, with natural gas accounting for more than 300 trillion Btus. It also uses a significant amount of nuclear energy, which accounts for 175 billion Btus. Connecticut imports electricity from several other states, including Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York. The major energy consumption in the state is for generating electricity, heating, transportation, and industries.
Utilities
Eversource Energy (formerly Connecticut Light & Power Company) and the United Illuminating Company (UI) are the state’s two regulated private-sector electric distribution companies; municipalities own five other electric distribution companies. These companies are responsible for purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in Connecticut. As of 2024, the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) regulated three gas companies and electric companies.
The state the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), which oversees natural resources. It is also accountable for energy policy and regulation in Connecticut. The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority regulates the cost of utilities.
In the early 1900s, energy needs in Connecticut were limited. Residential energy usage was low, and most energy was consumed by industry and in public functions such as street illumination. The Bulls Bridge Hydroelectric Plant, commissioned in 1903, was the first large power plant to be built on the Housatonic River. A major industrial achievement of its time, the plant generated electricity that was transmitted at high voltages (33 kilovolts) over long distances across the state. In 1905, the Rocky River Power Company was started by J. Henry Roraback to harness energy from the Rocky River, a tributary of the Housatonic River in western Connecticut. Roraback, one of the state’s most powerful politicians, drew up plans for transmission lines crisscrossing the state that would supply power to the farthest reaches of Connecticut.
The company acquired three other power companies in the region in 1917, whereupon it was renamed Connecticut Light & Power Company (CL&P). In 1966, CL&P merged with Western Massachusetts Electric Company (WMECO) and the Hartford Electric Light Company to form the multistate public utility holding company Northeast Utilities (NU), with headquarters in Berlin, Connecticut. NU also added NSTAR Electric, NSTAR Gas, Public Service Company of New Hampshire, and Yankee Gas Services Company to its portfolio. In 2015, the company renamed itself and its subsidiaries Eversource Energy.
The gas distribution system provided by Eversource in Connecticut covers an area of nearly 2,088 square miles. Eversource is Connecticut’s largest natural gas distribution company, delivering natural gas to around 3.7 million customers in the state as of 2024. This subsidiary delivers natural gas to thousands of Connecticut homes for heating, hot water, cooking (indoors and outdoors), fireplaces, and outdoor lighting.
CL&P and UI were largely responsible for setting up the existing transmission infrastructure in the state. In 1922, a company by the name of Connecticut Valley Exchange (CONVEX) became one of the leaders in interconnection of utilities. Today, CONVEX links the generating and transmitting utilities in the state. In 2006, UI and NU started a project to construct a 69-mile-long, 345-kilovolt alternating current (AC) transmission line between Middletown and Norwalk to extend transmission into southern Connecticut. The project also involved reconstruction of 57 miles of an existing 115-kilovolt line. The exercise was completed in 2009 at a cost of around $1 billion with a view to matching the state’s energy needs in the future. Parts of the line are built underground to address environmental concerns.
Alternative and Renewable Sources
The state has no known fossil fuel reserves, but forest areas in the northern part of the state contribute to wood that is used as fuel. Potential for developing the state’s renewable energy sector exists in the form of untapped onshore and offshore wind energy, ocean power, biomass and landfill gas, hydroelectric, and thermal energy resources. The net potential for utilizing renewable energy, if fully harnessed, could meet up to 37 percent of the state’s energy needs.
The Connecticut Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) requires all electric suppliers and electric distribution company wholesale suppliers to obtain at least 48 percent of their net energy using renewable sources by 2030. Earlier, the standard had required utilities to obtain at least 7 percent of their retail load from renewable sources by 2010.
Goals include reducing rates and decreasing costs for Connecticut’s taxpayers, ensuring reliability and safety of the state’s energy supply, increasing the use of clean energy and technologies that support clean energy, and developing the state’s energy-related economy. Electricity rates are very high in Connecticut—among the highest of all US states, in part because of state regulations and fines on utilities for not following prescribed standards of renewable energy usage.
In 2023, the state was ranked thirteenth in the United States for energy efficiency. Connecticut has one of the highest per capita investments in energy-efficient technologies and renewable energy in the United States. The organization Energize Connecticut supports energy-efficiency programs that, as of 2023, produced an annual savings of about 26,172 kilowatt-hours, which is a household savings of more than $4,000. However, despite the state's investments in renewable resources, according to the US Energy Administration in 2022, about 42 percent of Connecticut's households used oil or other fossil fuels for heating. During the same year, natural gas fueled 55 percent of the state's electricity. In 2024, state regulators approved the first round of pilot projects to accelerate Connecticut's energy innovation. Seven tech companies partnered with Eversource or United Illuminating to test their hardware or software to see if it is of value to decarbonize the state's electrical grid.
Bibliography
“Connecticut.” U.S. Energy Information Administration, US Dept. of Energy, 16 Nov. 2023, www.eia.gov/state/analysis.php?sid=CT. Accessed 30 July 2024.
Prevost, Lisa. "Connecticut Will Tap Clean Energy Technology to Find Emission-Cutting Efficiencies on Grid." Energy News Network, 12 Mar. 2024, energynews.us/2024/03/12/connecticut-will-tap-clean-energy-technology-to-find-emission-cutting-efficiencies-on-grid/. Accessed 30 July 2024.
Public Utilities Regulatory Authority. "Gas." Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, State of Connecticut, 2024, www.ct.gov/pura/cwp/view.asp?a=3358&q=414186&puraNav‗GID=1702. Accessed 30 July 2024.