Deepwater Wind looking to enter solar industry

SIMSBURY, Conn. – The offshore wind company Deepwater Wind LLC is trying to break into the solar industry and has bid on a 26.4-megawatt solar project in Connecticut, which would be one of the largest in New England.
Deepwater, based in Providence, has proposed to build the project, the “Simsbury solar farm,” on 153 acres of land in Simsbury, according to documents submitted to Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The Rhode Island company to date has largely been focused on offshore wind energy and is currently assembling a five-turbine, 30-megawatt offshore wind project off of Block Island, which is slated to become the first operational U.S. offshore wind farm in the country.
In response to a media inquiry, Deepwater CEO Jeffrey Grybowski largely downplayed the company’s move toward solar.
“There is a huge demand for clean energy in the U.S. Northeast,” he said in statement. “We are actively developing a variety of utility-scale projects to help meet the need, including wind, solar and energy storage across several markets.”
Grybowski could not be immediately reached to elaborate on what other projects the company might be working on, but his company’s proposal for the Simsbury solar farm is one of 30 bids submitted to DEEP, according to a press release from the state.
“We’re pleased with the response to this historic RFP (request for proposal), based on our initial look at the number of responses, and the creativity and ambition of the projects proposed,” said DEEP Commissioner Robert Klee in a statement. “This is good news for Connecticut’s ratepayers and signals the very real potential for us to deliver a cheaper, cleaner and more reliable energy future for residents and businesses of our state.”
Costs associated with the Simsbury solar farm project are redacted in Deepwater’s proposals, which will now go through an evaluation process before the state announces bid winners in the second half of 2016, according to the state.
If successful in its bid, Deepwater projects construction and commissioning would conclude in November 2018, according to its proposal.
Deepwater has also entered into an option agreement with Griffin Land, the owner of the project site, to purchase five parcels of land totaling 280 acres in Northeastern Simsbury, according to the proposal.

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