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Energy Secretary on State Pier Project: ‘We want to replicate this’
U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said during her
visit to eastern Connecticut Friday that President Joe Biden has singled out
Connecticut, and Waterford and New London in particular, as examples of how the
country can reach its clean energy goals.
Granholm traveled throughout eastern Connecticut during her
visit on Friday, including a stop at UConn to tour the Energy Department's
Southern New England Industrial Assessment Center. Her two final stops were at
Millstone Nuclear Power Station in Waterford and the State Pier in New London.
Millstone
Granholm was joined by U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd
District, State Rep. Kathleen McCarty, R-Waterford, Waterford First Selectman
Rob Brule and many Dominion Energy workers for a tour of Millstone on Friday.
Members of the group, comprised of the news media,
politicians, their staff, and Dominion staff, traveled across the power station
and into the unit 1 control room. At that point, the group split up, as a
smaller group of Granholm and others went inside.
The group joined back up at the dry cast storage site. In
addition to spent fuel pools, Millstone has dry storage in metal canisters
encased in concrete, which can be stored for decades. There are federal efforts
to find a national repository underway, with $20 million allocated in the
federal budget both last year and this year for a Request for Information
process where the federal government seeks localities that would welcome such a
repository. Courtney said the budget for 2023 contains $53 million to that
effect.
After Dominion officials answered questions from Granholm,
Granholm took questions from the news media while standing adjacent to the
nuclear waste storage facility.
Granholm said solving the waste issue is an important part
of relying on renewable energy.
"Clearly, we want to be able to continue to use these
plants and the ones we want to build, and right now nuclear fission has waste,
and so we've got to figure out where that's going to be solved," she said.
"A lot of communities raised their hands and said, yes, we are excited to
have a nuclear plant, but they didn't all volunteer to host the waste. So in
order to make good to those communities, we have to have a consent-based siting
process for the waste. So we've begun that."
About 200 communities responded to the federal RFI
expressing interest in building nuclear power in the community, but, Granholm
said, a much smaller percentage of these communities expressed a willingness
for further conversation about storing the nuclear waste.
"There are communities that are willing to engage in
that conversation," Granholm said. "And those communities would have
to be compensated, there's infrastructure issues, et cetera, we want to make
sure that they are made whole for doing this service to the country. That
conversation's ongoing, and we will be putting out another RFI based on the
first before the end of the year."
Granholm concluded the impromptu press conference discussing
why Millstone is essential to the state's and the country's clean energy goals.
"This facility, especially for this region, is huge. It
represents 40% of your power and over 90% of your clean power, so this is
really important to get to the goal of 100% clean electricity by 2035, which is
the president's goal," Granholm said. "It's one of the reasons why
your Congressman has been such an advocate for finding the solution for waste
but also for nuclear power. You get a lot of your power from natural gas, but this
particular site is critical to reach your goals."
Dominion officials maintained that it can safely store the
spent fuel, but urged Granholm for a federal site to be chosen.
Brule, along with other local actors past and present, have
expressed frustration with the fact that there is nuclear waste in town. Brule
has said he wants Dominion to adhere to the original agreement, and maintains
that nuclear waste puts the community in danger in multiple ways.
A bill passed in this spring's legislative session would
exempt Millstone Power Station from a state nuclear power facility construction
moratorium.
The bill is meant to allow the state's existing nuclear
power facilities — Millstone — to expand to other nuclear technologies on-site,
but not to build a third full-scale reactor.
As Dominion Energy New England Policy Director Mary Nuara
wrote in public testimony on the bill, "Dominion Energy supports the
state's efforts to explore all options available, including advanced nuclear
technologies like small modular reactors, to achieve its long-term
decarbonization goals."
The bill was supported on a bipartisan basis in both the
state House and Senate. Senate Bill 10, also passed this past legislative
session, requires the state to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from
electricity supplied to Connecticut customers by 2040, which legislators say
can't happen without the full-scale inclusion of renewable energy.
The federal government had originally committed to taking
possession of nuclear waste from facilities like Millstone but later reneged,
meaning Millstone stores its used fuel on site.
Dominion Senior Vice President and chief nuclear officer Dan
Stoddard said Friday that Dominion will not begin planning on building small
modular reactors at Millstone until a new power purchase agreement is arrived
at, and until Millstone extends its operating license out to 80 years. At that
point, they will begin looking closely at the possibility of building such
reactors at Millstone.
Granholm's trip to Millstone follows a Thursday exchange
between Blumenthal and Granholm during a Senate Committee on Armed Services
meeting. Blumenthal noted the importance of cybersecurity for facilities like
Millstone.
"I would suggest that we need cybersecurity in existing
industrial control systems — nuclear, wind, solar — not only new ones but those
being built ... We are vulnerable," Blumenthal said. "I will be
interested tomorrow to hear and see some of your suggestions about how we can
safeguard our cybersecurity, particularly on nuclear."
Granholm said in response that the National Nuclear Security
Administration has the same concerns as Blumenthal.
"They have hired an evaluation to happen and that
evaluator has identified some points of excellence but also some points of
challenge, and the points of challenge involve further investments in the work
force ... as well as infrastructure that will prevent ... hacking,
prevent penetration," Granholm said. "That includes monitoring,
includes detection, includes addressing on the spot, includes projection about
where things are going."
Blumenthal asked if Granholm had reviewed Millstone's
security systems. She said she was looking forward to learning about Millstone
on Friday.
"Well, we hope that you will give us the benefit of
your assessment when you finish with your view because cybersecurity there and
at every nuclear power plant has to be regarded with a tremendous
urgency," Blumenthal said.
Granholm concluded the exchange by saying for financial and
security reasons, the U.S. needs to focus on homegrown clean energy.
State Pier
After seeing Millstone, Granholm was taken on a tour of the
State Pier. She along with Courtney, Connecticut Department of Energy and
Environmental Protection Commissioner Katie Dykes, Gov. Ned Lamont, U.S.
Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, and representatives from
Eversource, Ørsted, Kiewit Infrastructure Company, building and construction
workers and other state and municipal leaders, including Mayor Michael Passero,
came to the site Friday afternoon to celebrate the project's progress.
Passero pointed out that federal politicians and officials
along with Lamont have taken a great interest in New London due to the State
Pier project in recent years.
"It's one of our banner days when we celebrate New
London being on the cutting edge of the new green economy that the Biden
administration is bringing to the United States," Passero said.
Port Authority Board Chair David Kooris said the State Pier
is a "terrific example" of what it takes to build a green and clean
energy economy.
"We're really happy to deliver this project less than a
year from now, and we can't wait to see turbines here and the ships bringing
those out to the offshore farm," Kooris said.
Eversource President Joe Nolan said the State Pier
"will be the epicenter of wind development in the whole northeast."
"There's no other place that this vessel can land other
than Norfolk, Virginia, that's how large this vessel is," Nolan said.
Ørsted Head of Northeast Government Affairs David Ortiz said
the company is looking forward to beginning offshore construction next year. He
said its first three projects will provide enough power for a million homes in
Connecticut and across the region.
Lamont praised the public-private partnership supporting the
State Pier remake.
"In the next four years, 92% of our electric grid is
going to be carbon-free," Lamont said. "I want to be a leader in this
country right now. Wind power along with nuclear power, what that means in
terms of a carbon-free grid; it makes a big difference."
Lamont and others also praised the project for its
provisions of hundreds of jobs. Granholm, Blumenthal and Courtney celebrated
the fact that they are union jobs.
"I particularly want to thank the men and women who are
out there every day, our laborers, our teamsters, the unions are making it
happen again," Blumenthal said. "Organized labor is coming through
here."
"To my colleagues in the United States Senate, if you
want to see the future of energy in this country, come here, come to New
London, come to the State Pier. This is the future of energy in the United
States of America," Blumenthal said.
Murphy said offshore wind is "the holy grail of public
policy" because it begets jobs in the short term, it accounts for economic
development in the long run, "it makes the country more secure, and it
helps save the planet."
"What other investment gets you all of that, all at
once?" Murphy asked.
In his remarks at the State Pier news conference Friday,
Courtney said that what's happening in New London is "eye-watering."
"Just the dimensions of this project, the complexity of
the work, and the speed with which it's being implemented, is really just
extraordinary," Courtney said. "That schedule, which we heard for
next year, I think is on track and it's going to stay on track to make sure
that we execute the plan exactly as it was initially envisioned."
Granholm said she was asked to come to Connecticut by the
White House "because y'all have been doing amazing things here in
Connecticut."
"The President has this goal of getting to 100% clean
electricity by 2035," Granholm said. "The reason why the President
was fascinated by what you are doing is because we want to replicate
this."
Costs for the State Pier project have spiraled since the
original estimation of $93 million, coming to a new projection of $235 million.
The project has also been facing allegations of corruption in recent years,
including a federal investigation into the spending and related contracts.
The state Contracting Standards Board, a watchdog agency
that had its funding politicized, but ultimately provided, during a budget
battle this past legislative session, recently completed an investigation into
the Connecticut Port Authority, which criticized past practices of the
Authority.
A federal grand jury has issued a subpoena for documents
related to Konstantinos "Kosta" Diamantis, the former deputy director
of Office of Policy and Management, who was assigned to oversee the Connecticut
Port Authority's $235 million State Pier redevelopment project and also led the
state's Office of School Construction Grants and Review. Diamantis resigned
after being suspended amid an ethics probe of his daughter's hiring by Chief
State's Attorney Richard Colangelo Jr. and a school construction contractor.
Asked whether she was aware of the federal investigation, and
if so, whether it would affect her feelings on the project, Granholm said,
"The project is a great project. I don't know about the local issues. This
is a great project though."
Stamford to consider rezoning Mill River Park, train station area. Here’s what you need to know.
STAMFORD — City officials Monday will weigh a comprehensive
rezoning plan that could mean more housing in the South End and change Mill
River Park’s zoning to keep it a park forever.
To do that, the Stamford Land Use Bureau will pitch plans to
the Zoning Board that tweak the development rights for properties along the
Mill River Corridor and near the Stamford Transportation Center.
Before the plan goes to the Zoning Board, here's what you
need to know.
Mill River Park
City Land Use Bureau Chief Ralph Blessing has held two
community outreach sessions about rezoning part of Mill River Park from
residential and light commercial uses to parkland.
The Land Use Bureau called the rezonings mostly "an
academic discussion" since much of the area is already used as a park.
Changing the zoning, Blessing claims, would protect the city’s land along Mill
River in perpetuity by requiring that it only be used for recreational
purposes.
The vast majority of rezoned land belongs to Mill River Park
and has been parkland for years, but the area also includes some properties
along Main Street. Most are owned by the Stamford Housing Authority, including
the subsidized housing complexes Stamford Manor and Augustus Manor.
The rezoning area starts just south of West Broad Street and
snakes down Greenwich Avenue, below Interstate 95 to Pulaski Street. About half
a mile of the planned change recharacterizes the former semi-commercial and
residential areas along the road as pure park territory, in keeping with the
city's 2015 Master Plan.
Though housing once lined that corridor, much of it was
"substandard" and full of "mold and lead paint," according
to Blessing. It also fell within the floodplain boundaries, "and a very
good use for a floodplain is actually a park," he said. Green space helps
absorb floodwater along waterfronts, creating a safety net for the
community, according
to the Naturally Resilient Communities project.
Blessing told residents during a community outreach session
Wednesday that "nothing will change here" because the buildings are
housing authority property.
The only exception to the less dense land use change is one
tract on the Main Street strip, Blessing said. The city owns a parcel at the
corner of Main and Clinton Avenue that, until 2019, belonged to financial giant
RBS. The lot now houses a Midas auto body shop.
"If the city ever decides to sell that site, we want to
make sure that there is zoning in place that regulates what can be built,"
Blessing said.
The change would increase the amount of housing that can be
built on the land.
Under the proposed rezoning, an owner could hypothetically
build up to 108 units per acre of land. Future developers of the Midas
property, which is slightly less than half an acre, could put about 41
apartments on the property — not counting any development bonuses they may receive,
Blessing said.
Stamford Transportation Center
The Land Use Bureau coupled zoning changes to the Mill River
corridor with a reimagining three plots near the Stamford Transportation
Center, which is slated to get a face lift from the state. The
state Department of Transportation is in the process of putting together a
master plan for the surrounding area and is also building an $81.7
million parking garage adjacent to the train station.
Most of the area near the transportation center is zoned for
heavy manufacturing uses that reflect a bygone era of Stamford, according to
Blessing. Warehouses once lined the road, though they have steadily disappeared
over the years. In heavy industrial districts, no residential uses are allowed
and commercial uses are minimal.
Under the upcoming proposal, the three areas would be
recategorized under two zones: one intended to encourage development near the
train station, the other more geared toward high-density multifamily housing.
"The idea, obviously, is that you want to have your
highest densities next to the train station so you're reducing car
traffic," Blessing said.
The transportation center rezoning follows significant
investment from landowners, the city and the state. For one, the Department of
Economic and Community Development in January gave dominant Stamford developer
Building and Land Technology a $1 million grant to remediate and rehabilitate
the old Blickensderfer factory in the area.
Though the Land Use Bureau will rezone the northernmost land
from Washington Boulevard to Canal Street, the city expects development to
happen at three properties — including the Blickensderfer building — within
that half-mile stretch. Under the updated zoning, they expect the three
developments to produce about 1,300 apartments.
A
2018 study of the South End, its resources and future development previously
modeled 2,040 units on those properties.
Zoning Board members are already weighing development at
another of the three parcels; a
developer in April pitched a high-rise at 441 Canal St., which would
replace an antiques warehouse demolished in 2021.
State expected to approve funding to fix dams in Ledyard
Ledyard — The state Bonding Commission is
expected on Thursday to approve $3 million in state funding for
projects here including money to repair three Colonial-era dams on Long
Pond and Bush Pond.
Then town got the news late last week when state
Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, and Mayor Fred Allyn III said
the Bond Commission is expected to approve money for bridge and dam
upgrades, including upgrading pump stations, adding a storage tank
and extending an emergency connection in Ledyard.
The conservation group Lantern Hill Valley Association and
the McKee Farm Trust have been working to get funding for the estimated $1
million needed to repair the three dams they own. The organizations
did not have the money to do the work.
"I'm thrilled. It's been 10 long years that we've been
pushing at this," LHVA member Betsy Graham said Sunday. "This
benefits the whole region."
Graham pointed out LHVA has been maintaining,
inspecting and paying taxes on the dams for 50 years.
"Senator Osten recogized that and the value
they provide to the region," she said.
Graham said the funding will ensure the
dams, bridges and adjacent roads will remain intact during major
storms to come.
"It's a big relief that future generations will not
have to worry about these things," she said.
Last month David Keehn, the president of the LHVA, said
repairing the dam is important from safety, recreational and environmental
perspectives. He added if the dams failed, the water could endanger downstream
properties.
LHVA also is working with the environmental group Save the
Sound to install a fishway through the Long Pond Dam that will connect Whitford
Brook into Long Pond. This will allow anadromous fish, such as river herring,
which spend their lives in both saltwater and fresh water, to return to the
pond for the first time in 350 years to lay their eggs.
Graham said the plan is to coordinate the design and
construction of the dams and fishway.
In announcing the likely funding, Osten
said, "Sometimes you get state bonding for a project that seems
simple on its face, like repairing some dams and bridges, but which really has
other, greater consequences, and I think that's the case here."
"Long Pond and the Whitford Brook are connected to the
Mystic River and Long Island Sound, and so they're connected to all of the fish
that live in the Sound. It would be great if, along with protecting the
integrity of some old dams and the private property downstream, we could give a
boost to fish who historically have spawned in Ledyard's freshwater ponds. My
expectation is that's what these state funds will ultimately help
accomplish," she said.
Ledyard Mayor Allyn added he
appreciated Osten supporting "this critical infrastructure
investment in Ledyard."
"These are exactly the types of long-term investments
that state bonding should be paying for," he said. "I truly
appreciate all the work she has done for us here in eastern Connecticut."
East Hartford eyes Silver Lane acquisitions to redevelop dingy commercial corridor
East Hartford is gearing up for a multimillion-dollar effort
to revitalize its dingy Silver Lane corridor by acquiring multiple large, dated
and underperforming buildings for redevelopment.
City officials are moving to adopt a strategic plan,
developed under a $50,000 contract by East Hartford-based real estate advisors
Gorman + York.
The plan – which will be the subject of a public forum next
Wednesday – seeks to stop the decline of the Silver Lane corridor
“The plan gives us the proper tools to prioritize and
explain the town’s priorities for development and blight removal,” Eileen
Buckheit, East Hartford director of development, wrote in response to questions
from the Hartford Business Journal.
The plan looks at largely commercial and industrial
properties on either side of Silver Lane, from the Charter Oak Mall west to a
series of small plazas by the commuter on ramp to Interstate 84.
The aim is to capitalize on recently announced plans by
Boston-based National Development to redevelop a 300-acre portion of the former
Rentschler Field. That plan aims to add two warehouse buildings totaling 2.5
million square feet, as well as two more buildings of roughly 100,000 square
feet for high-tech manufacturing and research.
East Hartford’s new strategic plan aims to avoid displacing
area residents, but prioritizes several properties for acquisition and
redevelopment, including, in order:
Silver Lane Plaza – 808-850 Silver Lane
Nursing Home – 51 Applegate Lane
Charter Oak Mall and associated ring road – 934-940 Silver
Lane
Futtner Farm – 711 Silver Lane
Pratt & Whitney fields
755 Silver Lane
707 Silver Lane (UTC)
Five properties in 2018 Revitalization Plan
In addition to acquiring key pieces of property, Gorman +
York suggests East Hartford adopt a special zoning district for the Silver Lane
area that provides a swift and predictable land-use approval process, along
with more flexibility for highest-yield designs. Gorman + York’s plan also
calls for reducing the retail square footage of the area through demolition of
obsolete buildings.
Today, it is not that Silver Lane is overbuilt,” reads a
portion of the Gorman + York report. “It is that Silver Lane is
under-demolished. There is too much older, nearly functionally obsolescent
retail space in the corridor that can no longer compete — can no longer attract
investment.”
The plan also calls for East Hartford to invest in
sidewalks, roads and other infrastructure, demonstrating to investors the
town’s commitment to Silver Lane’s resurgence.
The town has access to funding for a grand effort.
Connecticut lawmakers have allocated $60 million to East Hartford redevelopment
in recent years, according to Michael Freimuth, executive director of the
Capital Region Development Authority. The money would flow through his agency,
which has so far pledged to use $9 million for Silver Lane redevelopment.
East Hartford is already pursuing the broad strategy
recommended in the new plan. The town purchased the closed Showcase Cinema site
on Silver Lane in 2019, then demolished the structure. It has entered into a
purchase-and-sale agreement with New Britain-based Jasko Development and Zelman
Real Estate of West Hartford.
The investors plan to build up to 420 apartment units on the
Showcase site, Buckheit told CRDA board members Thursday. Land-use approvals
are expected in August, allowing for a sale to be finalized in the final
quarter of the year, she said.
Buckheit said a similar approval and purchase timetable is
expected for the National Development’s efforts at Rentschler Field.
“We are trying to change the image of the corridor,”
Buckheit said. “We are trying to change the image of this entire area.”
The plan laid out by Gorman + York must undergo review by
East Hartford’s Planning and Zoning Commission, before going to the Town
Council for adoption, Buckheit told the CRDA board. She hopes to see the
process completed by summer, then tackle sites one-by-one.