The commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection is making his case for classifying hydropower as renewable to the state’s clean energy industry.
Commissioner Dan Esty is meeting on Thursday at the DEEP headquarters in Hartford with various industry stakeholders to discuss proposed Senate Bill 1138, which changes the state’s definition of renewable power, most notably to include large-scale hydro from Canada.
On Friday, Esty will discuss the proposal with members of the Hartford-based Renewable Energy & Efficiency Business Association.
Groups such as REEBA and others have voiced opposition to the bill, saying the plan decreases state and market incentives for other clean energy technologies such as solar and fuel cells.
Esty and DEEP argue the changes open up more room for in-state renewable resources, as the majority of state funding for renewables go to biomass plants in Maine and New Hampshire.
S.B. 1138 was passed out of the Energy & Technology Committee in a 16-8 vote, and the legislation’s fate will be decided by the full General Assembly before the end of the session in June. DEEP is pushing for faster approval, because of expiring wind power federal incentives.
