Lawmakers OK Lamont’s target of zero-carbon power by 2040
Connecticut lawmakers on Thursday voted to send Gov. Ned Lamont a codification of his own ambitious goal: obtaining all of the state’s power from clean-energy sources by 2040.
The goal of supplying 100 percent of Connecticut’s power from non-carbon
emitting sources such as nuclear and wind was originally established by executive order in 2019, though putting it into law is a centerpiece of Connecticut Democrats’ multi-faceted climate agenda for the ongoing legislative session.
Final passage of the measure, Senate Bill 10, was granted by a 113-35 vote in the
House, with about two-thirds of Republicans voting “no.”
While the legislation contains no penalties if the state fails to meet its targets, Democrats said it would effectively serve as a promise to utilities and power generators that Connecticut is willing to make necessary investments in renewable power sources in order to meet its goals.
“Codifying the 2040 target provides an important longterm signal to the market that will enable more efficient planning and investment over time,” said state Rep. David Arconti, D- Danbury, the co-chair of the Energy and Technology Committee.
In a statement released Thursday, Lamont applauded the lawmakers for passing the measure, which he said he intends to sign in the coming days.
“Committing Connecticut to a 100% zero-carbon electricity supply by 2040 not only will have a positive impact on improving our air quality, but it will also support the growth of clean energy jobs,” Lamont said. “This is an important action we are taking to help mitigate the impacts of the climate crisis that we are already starting to experience.”
Currently, Connecticut is not on track to even meeting interim benchmarks for reducing carbon emissions from all sectors — including power generation and transportation — a fact that Republicans repeatedly drew attention to during several hours of debate on the House floor on Thursday afternoon.
While carbon emissions from power generation have declined with the phasing out of aging coal and oil-fired power plants, the state is actually belching out more carbon in recent years from vehicles and home heating, according to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
“This bill is kind of fantasy,” said state Rep. Kimberly Fiorello, R- Greenwich. “It’s an insult to the intelligence people of Connecticut, it’s an insult to all the businesses that have to run here.”
In response to Republican questioning, Arconti said that the bill would not mandate the closure of fossil fuel plants currently operating in the state, and that in fact they would be allowed to continue supplying power to Connecticut residents beyond 2040. Instead, he said that in order to meet the zero-carbon goal Connecticut’s utilities and ratepayers would be able to continue the existing policy of purchasing renewable energy credits to offset carbon emissions produced by power plants within the state.
Using that method of accounting, Connecticut ratepayers currently pay to support the equivalent of about 75 percent of their electricity usage through renewable sources, the vast majority of which is nuclear power, according to DEEP.
The amount of renewable energy consumed in Connecticut is expected to increase by 2025 as more offshore wind and solar plants come online, according to DEEP spokesman Will Healey.
In contrast to the GOP opposition the bill received in the House, Senate Republicans earlier this week were more optimistic about the goals established in SB10, voting unanimously in support of the measure.
State Sen. Paul Formica, REast Lyme, said the governor’s power generation targets appeared to already be within reach following efforts to keep the Millstone Nuclear Power Plant in Waterford running for another ten years, in addition to launching offshore wind projects from the State Pier in New London.
“This seems like a bit of a stretch but I’m hoping with some of the projects we’re starting to see and being a leader here in the state of Connecticut… I think this opportunity could be in reach,” Formica said.
In a separate action on Thursday, House lawmakers voted 129-18 to increase existing caps on solar production at commercial and shared solar facilities, sending that legislation to Gov. Lamont as well.
An analysis by legislative staff predicted that the solar energy bill would add about $6 in annual utility costs to
ratepayers not participating in solar programs. The cost of the larger SB10 is indeterminable, staff said, due to the likelihood of future policies and technologies to impact energy costs.
While Republicans grumbled about the likelihood that both bills would increase electricity costs for ratepayers, neither piece of legislation faced the kind of opposition that led to more than six hours of debate on Tuesday over Democrats’ companion plan to lower tailpipe emissions by placing thousands of new electric cars, trucks and buses on the road over the next decade.
That measure, Senate Bill 4, was passed by the Senate over the opposition of all but a single member of the Republican caucus, and has yet to face a vote in the House.
House Speaker Matthew Ritter, D- Hartford, told reporters on Thursday that the vehicle emissions bill had the support of House Democrats and would likely come up for a vote on Friday or Saturday.
“We’re going to do it,” Ritter said. “I think it will make Connecticut again more of a leader nationally on environmental issues.”