As New Englanders, we know our weather is unpredictable and, at times, uncomfortable. Let’s face it; we take pride in our ability to endure extreme weather conditions. However, our volatile weather can have wide-ranging impacts, including on our power grid and the price of electricity too.

Just recently, we suffered through a multi-day heat wave with soaring temperatures and excessive humidity. Air conditioning and other power needs drove up the demand for electricity, causing power prices to climb. One day, electricity demand pushed power prices above $500/MWh. The next two days, power prices spiked again.

Thankfully, here in Southeast Connecticut, we have Millstone Power Station. Millstone is a resilient resource that generates electricity rain or shine, bitter cold or oppressive heat. A few years ago, when Millstone’s economic future was in doubt, the legislature gave carbon-free nuclear power the chance to compete against other zero-carbon resources to deliver electricity directly to Connecticut consumers. Millstone was one of the winning bidders and now provides around-the-clock carbon-free power to Connecticut for less than $50/MWh.

That is what I call a win-win-win. Millstone continues to operate; Connecticut consumers get clean, affordable, and reliable electricity; and the region gets a workhorse that puts carbon-free power onto the grid no matter the weather.

In fact, there are exciting developments on the horizon that have the potential to make Millstone an even more important player in the clean energy universe. Transportation is the biggest source of carbon emissions. Electric vehicles are one way to remove these emissions, but current battery technology is ill suited to powering large vehicles like semi-trailers and buses. Hydrogen-powered fuel cells, on the other hand, are an ideal power source as the only emission they produce is water vapor. Connecticut, in fact, is home to a native fuel cell industry. These fuel cells can be used to power large vehicles, as well as powering micro-grids for cities and towns as back-up power. There is such a fuel cell installed at the Naval Submarine Base.  

The knock on hydrogen has been that the energy used to produce it in many cases comes from the use of fossil fuels. However, producing hydrogen from nuclear-produced electricity makes it truly “green.” The infrastructure bill recently passed by the U.S. Senate contains funding for just such a pilot project. With the Millstone plant and our homegrown fuel cell industry, this is truly a win-win for our state. I am working with our state and federal delegations to move this forward.

Millstone operates so consistently and reliably that we sometimes take it for granted. To the hard-working professionals at Millstone, many of whom live in my district, I do not take you for granted. Thank you for keeping Millstone, the region’s largest and most reliable source of carbon-free electricity, humming along during our latest heat wave. Given Connecticut’s ambitious clean energy goals, you will continue to play a vital role in our green power future.

State. Rep. Holly Cheeseman serves the 37th District of East Lyme and Salem and serves on the Energy and Technology Committee. She is a Republican.