Wallingford mulls impact of new trail
WALLINGFORD — An island known for the production of fireworks, and the site of several explosions, will become a recreational haven if and when the town obtains approval for the third phase of the Quinnipiac River Linear Trail project.The third trail segment is slated to run a mile north from its current endpoint after the tunnel under the Wilbur Cross Parkway. According to plans, Phase 3 would extend the trail across a 208-foot bridge onto Fireworks Island. The island is the former home of M. Backes and Sons Inc., a company that produced fireworks. The factory experienced explosions several times, and at least one of those blasts resulted in a fatality. But as part of the linear trail, the island would become ideal for outdoor recreation seekers who enjoy the beauty of the Quinnipiac River. Winding through the flood plain forest beside the river, the trail would provide for a “great recreational resource,” said Bill Root, an environmental scientist with Milone & MacBroom, the engineering firm designing the trail. An abundance of wildlife occupies the area where the trail would be built, he said, and the river is a “tremendous fishery resource.”
Maine wind makes CT solar affordable
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's decision to finance a $1 billion wind farm in Maine will help Connecticut attain its renewable energy goals and support a solar farm development in Lisbon, with minimal impact on ratepayers, according to an administration source.When the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority on Oct. 23 approved Malloy's plan to fund a 250 megawatt wind farm in Maine and a 20 megawatt solar farm in Lisbon, the regulators noted the Maine deal didn't have a specific benefit to Connecticut.When combined, however, the deals bring down the purchase price of the entire 270 megawatt wind and solar buy, according to a Malloy Administration official.
The result: Connecticut electric utility ratepayers will pay less than 8 cents per kilowatt hour for the wind and solar power over the life of the contracts. That makes the cost closer to grid parity, meaning utility customers won't have to pay as high a premium for those renewable energy sources. The price of power straight off the electric grid fluctuates greatly, but the average is around 5 cents per kilowatt hour.The average 8-cent price for the two contracts was only possible because Connecticut is buying a large amount of cheaper power from Maine — probably 6-7 cents per kilowatt hour — that makes the cost of the Connecticut solar power — probably 12-15 cents per kilowatt hour — more affordable on average.
Northeast Utilities Northern Pass plan may face delays
A Washington, D.C.-based research and economic analysis firm is warning investors that Northeast Utilities Northern Pass transmission line project could face significant delays and significant modifications. Analysts Rob Rains and Tim VandenBerg, with Washington Analysis LLC, say in their report that Northern Pass, which would carry 1,200 megawatts of hydropower from Quebec into southern New Hampshire if it gets regulatory approval, “likely faces significant delays and cost increases.” “Regulatory hurdles and substantial political headwinds will likely prevent the project from going into service before 2018, at the earliest with delays until 2019-2020 very possible as well,” Rains and VandenBerg write in their report. “We simply disagree with Northeast Utilities’ past statement that it expects Northern Pass to be in service in 2017 and that it will receive state siting approval in 2015. “We also expect the firm to succumb to overwhelming political pressure from (New Hampshire) Gov. Maggie Hassan (D), Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R), and state lawmakers calling for them to bury more of the project underground in the northernmost portion of the state, beginning in Pittsburg and traveling through Coos County,” they wrote. The report notes that the cost of the project is at $1.4 billion and “we note that Northeast Utilities’ revised proposal, which called for burying just 7.5 miles of the 187-mile project underground, raised costs by more than 16 percent.”
New mayor seeks new site for Bridgewater
STAMFORD -- After emerging victorious this week, mayor-elect David Martin said that he hopes to re-establish a boatyard on the former site of the city's last working marina and persuade South End developer Building and Land Technology and hedge fund giant Bridgewater Associates to abandon plans to build a new headquarters on the 14-acre peninsula. Martin narrowly won election Tuesday over Republican opponent Michael Fedele, whose position on bringing Bridgewater to the peninsula shifted over his campaign.The new mayor will be sworn into office Dec. 1 and will find himself facing a number of issues, including how to strike a compromise that will still lure Bridgewater to Stamford while preserving the site off Bateman Way for its designated water-dependent uses.
One solution is to find an alternate location that would suit the hedge fund's specific needs.
The Gateway complex, another BLT project with 474,000 square feet of commercial space on 5.4 acres would allow Bridgewater to build a distinctive headquarters and has the strong selling point of being adjacent to the Stamford train station, Martin said.