Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | OCTOBER 6, 2025 19 Crews work on installing a turbine for Revolution Wind, Connecticut's only offshore wind project. Contributed Photo | Ørsted Michael O'Connor took over as executive director of the Connecticut Port Authority earlier this year. HBJ Photo | Harriet Jones Port Pressure New London's $300M State Pier faces legal fights, federal pushback and uncertainty — could short-sea shipping be in its future? its Revolution Wind offshore project 80% complete at State Pier, Ørsted was hit with a federal stop-work order citing unspecified national security concerns. The company promptly sued in federal court. After a month-long pause, a court order has allowed Ørsted to resume work on the project while the underlying lawsuit proceeds. The dispute has cast uncertainty over the future of both Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind, the follow-on project expected to keep State Pier active through 2027. So, if the Trump administration continues to put pressure on the entire offshore wind industry, what's next for New London's expensive piece of infrastructure? It's a question that's been on the mind of Michael O'Connor, executive director of the Connecticut Port Authority, since he took up his post earlier this year. He's already got some ideas, including using the pier for short-sea shipping — a system that could shift freight off Connecticut's highways and onto coastal routes. "This is not a conversation we're having because wind got threatened," O'Connor said in a recent interview. "We're having this conversation because we can make better use of our coastline." 'A big advantage' O'Connor took the Port Authority's reins at the beginning of 2025. He arrived there after a 32-year career at Millstone Nuclear Power Station in Waterford, ending his stint as site vice president. He came to the Authority saying he wanted to bring some clarity of lead- ership to the institution, which has had its share of governance problems since its 2014 inception, even beyond the State Pier issues. Ørsted's lease on State Pier runs through 2033. The original plan envi- By Harriet Jones hjones@hartfordbusiness.com T he redevelopment of New London's State Pier has been — by any estimation — a prolonged and controversial episode in Connecticut's infrastructure history. The project was designed to turn the State Pier into a dedicated offshore wind hub, capable of staging and moving massive turbine compo- nents for East Coast projects. To achieve that, the work has included demolishing old warehouses, filling in part of the pier to create a larger, uniform platform, and upgrading its heavy-lift capacity. Billed as a once-in-a-generation transformation, it was originally slated in 2019 to be a $93 million project. In the years since, the cost has more than tripled, to more than $300 million. And the saga isn't done yet, as the Port Authority faces off with Kiewit, the construction company that oversaw the project, over two alleged defects. The agency wants Kiewit to pay for the fixes, while the company is demanding an additional $35 million to carry them out. And yet — courtesy of the Trump administration — this already tortured story is to have one more twist. The pier was developed at the behest and partly at the expense of Danish wind power giant Ørsted, which chose New London as the perfect staging area for building out North Atlantic wind farms. In late August, with construction on Continued on next page THE STATE PIER TIMELINE 2019 Project announced at $93M 2020–22 Demolition, fill and heavy-lift upgrades 2023 Costs top $300M 2024 Kiewit dispute over construction defects Aug. 2025 Federal stop-work order halts Revolution Wind over national security concerns Sept. 2025 Court allows work to resume, lawsuit pending

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