Keep the Killingly Energy Center on track

The Killingly Energy Center will be a giant win for our economy and environment: $500 million in new private-sector investment, 450 great-paying construction jobs and another leap forward in replacing New England’s higher-emissions power plants with a super-efficient unit that can power 500,000 homes. It is exactly the kind of power Connecticut needs to support aggressive goals for expanding the use of offshore wind power and solar energy — affordable, dependable power that can be dialed up on a moment’s notice when intermittent electricity sources, like wind and solar, aren’t able to meet demand.

The project has undergone years of review, been embraced by the Town of Killingly and successfully demonstrated through a rigorous competitive bidding process that it will be a vitally needed part of ensuring the reliability of New England’s electric system. Natural gas is also now the primary source of electricity for most Americans, reliably and affordably providing 34 percent of our country’s share of electricity and helping to reduce carbon emissions to the lowest they have been in a generation.

Governor Lamont and his administration should be doing all they can to keep the Killingly Energy Center on track to get built and be in service by 2022, for the good of Connecticut’s energy consumers, our economy and our environment.

Steven Guveyan, Hartford

Steve Guveyan is the executive director of the Connecticut Petroleum Council.