Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Conn. biomass project gets $225M in funding

By Lori Valigra

The Plainfield Renewable Energy (PRE) biomass project in Connecticut will receive $225 million for construction financing from Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) and the Carlyle Energy Mezzanine Opportunities Group.

The PRE project is owned by a subsidiary of Enova Energy Group of Atlanta, Ga., and Orlando, Fla., and will be located on a 27-acre site in Plainfield, Conn. The project, which is expected to generate 37.5 megawatts of clean energy to power an equivalent of 37,000 homes when it is completed, is expected to create 400 jobs, 100 of them permanent and 300 in construction.
 
The companies said the project has all the needed permits and is expected to be completed in December 2013. SAIC will also supply engineering, procurement and construction services for the project under a fixed-price, date-certain contract.

The project is to use wood available from construction and demolition debris, recycled wood pallets and land-clearing materials. Connecticut Light & Power will purchase power from the plant based on a 15-year, off-take agreement. The companies said the plant’s location is also a beneficial reuse of a former Superfund site.

“This project is great news for Plainfield, the region, and the state. It will create 400 jobs, bring more than $800,000 per year of tax revenues to the town, and increase the supply of electricity to the region. It represents exactly the type of renewable energy projects that the state should attract,” Town of Plainfield First Selectman Paul Sweet said in a statement.

The state of Connecticut has been pushing to advance its cleantech industry. Last September, for example, Connecticut’s Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority launched a competitive solar photovoltaic solicitation with $4.5 million to help cover the costs of solar projects.