NEW SOURCE OF ENERGY FOR NEW ENGLAND

NEW SOURCE OF ENERGY FOR NEW ENGLAND

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 47 (Monday, March 16, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 47 (Monday, March 16, 2026)] [House] [Pages H2488-H2489] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] {time} 1215 NEW SOURCE OF ENERGY FOR NEW ENGLAND (Mr. Courtney of Connecticut was recognized to address the House for 5 minutes.) Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, as this headline on the whiteboard proclaims, we in New England received welcomed news on Friday that, after years of hard work and massive investments by both the private sector and the government, a new, reliable source of energy for our electrical grid was officially turned on. This project, known as Revolution Wind, will add 700 megawatts that will power over 350,000 homes in Rhode Island and Connecticut. At a time of tight supply and rising energy costs, adding hundreds of megawatts and electrical capacity is an obvious way to reduce costs, rather than just offloading the burden onto energy users. This project is locked into a 20-year contract price of 9 cents per kilowatt-hours at a time when the average price from other sources to the region's grid is 30 cents per kilowatt-hour. Obviously, this is a beneficial response and solid solution to addressing New England's and our Nation's high-cost economy. Even more significant is the fact that this power source is not at the mercy of the global fossil fuel markets that [[Page H2489]] have skyrocketed the cost of home heating oil and gas at the pumps since the start of the war in Iran 16 days ago. Today, home heating oil in Connecticut is $5.10 per gallon, up from $4.28 per gallon just last week and $3.74 per gallon a year ago. Gas at the pump is going for $3.65 per gallon. It was $2.90 per gallon 1 month ago. Mr. Speaker, the men and women who have been hard at work at the State pier in New London, Connecticut, for the last 6 years, transforming a decrepit, underutilized dock into a state-of-the-art port that can handle massive cargo carriers, delivering enormous towers, blades, and the nacelles that connect the towers and the blades. Sensors are mounted on the nacelles to detect wind speed, which then moves blades into the wind to maximize output. It is ingenious. Union operating engineers, electricians, and laborers kept this project moving forward, despite the persistent, hostile obstruction of the Trump administration's Department of the Interior, which issued two illegal halt work orders in 2025. The Department's orders were soundly rejected by Federal district courts in Washington, D.C., and Virginia. The Department's unfounded claims that Revolution Wind posed a national security threat were decisively and swiftly dismissed given the fact that the Department of Defense, in consultation with the Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard, thoroughly examined this project and issued a permit in December 2024. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record a letter dated December 13, 2024, from the Assistant Secretary of Defense, who found that this project ``would not have adverse impacts to DOD missions in the area.'' The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Connecticut? There was no objection. Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Washington, DC, December 13, 2024. Reference Federal Aviation Administration Aeronautical Study Number: 2021-WTE-2881-OE and 23 associated structures. Ms. Whitney Marsh, rsted, Providence, RI. Dear Ms. Marsh: Thank you for your participation in the Mitigation Response Team to assess and overcome military impacts from your proposed Revolution Wind project off the coast of Squibnocket Beach in Chilmark, Massachusetts. In a letter dated October 27, 2021, the Department of Defense (DoD) described the potential impacts to military operations for the project. As a result of discussions between rsted and the U.S. Air Force and a resulting mitigation agreement signed by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment on November 4, 2024, the Military Aviation and Installation Assurance Siting Clearinghouse (Clearinghouse) has found that construction of the Revolution Wind Wind project, with no more than 65 wind turbines up to 873 feet above sea level and no more than two offshore substations up to 228 feet above sea level, would not have adverse impacts to DoD missions in the area. The Clearinghouse has entered a determination of ``No Objection with Provision'' for this project via the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Obstruction Evaluation/Airport Airspace Analysis system. Our response to the FAA included a notification that additional structure proposals or an increase to the current maximum structure height may present an adverse impact. We encourage you to engage DoD prior to any proposed expansion or height increase. Sincerely, Steven J. Sample, Executive Director, Military Aviation and Installation, Assurance Siting Clearinghouse. Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I think all of New England and the mid- Atlantic States owe a huge thanks to Judge Royce Lambeth, the Reagan appointee who lived up to his oath and twice asserted the power of the judiciary, a coequal branch of government, to rein in the administration's ludicrous, harmful abuse of executive power. As our economy is reeling today from the oil and gas aftershock of the war in Iran, the news this weekend that offshore wind can provide a reliable, affordable source of energy that is produced in America and for American energy consumers is hopefully going to force a reconsideration of the attack on renewable energy by this administration and, unfortunately, my colleagues in the House who have legislatively crushed this industry, depriving American consumers of an affordable source of home-grown energy. Wind power alone will not solve our energy demands, but 700 new megawatts surging into New England is undeniable proof that our Nation's innovators, our building trades union, and the merchant mariners are up to the job to power our country in the 21st century. ____________________