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Ørsted and Eversource ink Host Community Agreement for New London pier

4C Offshore | Tom Russell
By: Tom Russell 02/03/2021 Office of Governor Ned Lamont
Governor Ned Lamont has announced that the City of New London and the Ørsted/Eversource Joint Venture have signed a Host Community Agreement (HCA) to facilitate the redevelopment of State Pier into a heavy-lift facility capable of supporting offshore wind turbine staging and assembly and a broader range of cargo businesses.

The HCA guarantees at least $5.25 million in payments to the City of New London over seven years. The agreement also provides for the city’s revenue to increase as Connecticut’s use of renewable offshore wind expands over the next decade.

“Today’s agreement makes Connecticut’s role as a leader in the offshore wind industry official, with New London now poised to become the premier commercial east coast hub for this sector and our state set to become a leader in the transition to renewable energy and the fight against climate change,” Governor Lamont said. “This project represents exactly what I have wanted to see at the local level since I came into office – local investment, job growth, development, and a focus on providing for a better environment and future for our state. I am proud to see this agreement come to fruition, and I am especially proud of our private sector partners working with us in the public sector to make this project a reality.”


The HCA provides $750,000 annually to the City of New London for seven years during the construction of the Revolution Wind, South Fork Wind, and Sunrise Wind projects. If Eversource and Ørsted win any Connecticut offshore wind procurement during those seven years and JV work continues at the port, the annual payment will extend through year ten of the host community agreement. The HCA builds on an earlier Ørsted and Eversource commitment for the first two years of operations at State Pier.


Should the Eversource and Ørsted joint venture win additional offshore wind procurement awards from Connecticut, the agreement increases payments up to $1.5 million per year retroactively to year three regardless of the year the award is received. These payments are retroactive, meaning the City of New London would receive the maximum investment regardless of when the increased activity thresholds are met.


“Ørsted and Eversource believe that the City of New London can be an epicenter for the offshore wind industry in the northeast and are eager to build a strong partnership with the city and the region by ensuring it has the tools and resources needed to grow alongside this emerging industry,” David Hardy, CEO of Ørsted Offshore North America, said. “Since announcing the final Harbor Development Agreement with the state and other partners last year, we have worked diligently with the mayor and his team to build a strong Host Community Agreement that puts the New London in a position to grow alongside the industry in Connecticut. We are proud to be the city’s partner on this exciting journey.”


“This is a tremendous moment for the City of New London,” Joe Nolan, Eversource Executive Vice President of Strategy, Customer & Corporate Relations, said. “Eversource and Ørsted look forward to our long-term partnership with the city as we work together to launch Connecticut’s next great maritime industry right here in New London. The benefits of the redeveloped State Pier and our offshore wind project work at the port will serve as an economic catalyst for New London and the region, bringing hundreds of new jobs to the area while also delivering the benefits of clean energy to Connecticut and beyond. We are grateful to the mayor for his support for this project and offshore wind and look forward to a long, productive partnership.”


“The Connecticut Port Authority is thrilled that Ørsted and Eversource have reached a final Host City Agreement with the City of New London that guarantees significant revenue to the city while wind development is taking place at the pier,” David Kooris, chairman of the Connecticut Port Authority, said. “This is just the first tangible sign of the local economic impacts that will result from the Connecticut Port Authority having attracted this marquee user to our soon-to-be-upgraded facility. We look forward to more local benefits as the project comes to fruition.”


The HCA is in furtherance of the $157 million public-private Harbor Development Agreement (HDA) between the State of Connecticut and the Ørsted and Eversource Joint Venture to transform the State Pier into a modernized, heavy-lift facility capable of operating as part of the U.S. offshore wind supply chain. It coincides with the HDA’s ten-year lease agreement that the Ørsted and Eversource Joint Venture signed to utilise the State Pier as a wind turbine generator pre-assembly and staging hub for at least the
Revolution Wind, Sunrise Wind, South Fork Wind projects.

If the Ørsted and Eversource Joint Venture continue operations at the State Pier beyond the initial terms of the HDA, this HCA provides an option to negotiate additional payments beyond the initial ten years. In 2019, the city also signed a revenue-sharing agreement with the Connecticut Port Authority, which will benefit the city as State Pier sees increased activity.



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