An offshore wind farm in the North Sea. Photo courtesy of Harald Pettersen/Statoil/CC BY-2.0.

With nearly every state in the Northeast looking to cash in on the coming offshore wind power boom, Connecticut is planning to upgrade New London’s port facilities in a bid to make the area a hub for the wind industry in the area.

In an interview with the Hartford Business Journal, former chairman of the Connecticut Port Authority Scott Bates laid out the case that the upgrades could unleash new industrial development in the area, already home to submarine builders The Electric Boat Co.

Upgrades to the port to support the installation of offshore wind farms will also help encourage more industrial development in the area because the industry will require subsidiary industries to develop in the area and because a wider range of ships will be able to dock, making shipping products cheaper.