A trio of energy-saving projects on the table in Ansonia have the potential to save the city millions in longterm electricity costs, according to officials.
The city is in the planning stages of a project to put solar panels on its old landfill, and also plans to hire a New Haven-based firm to put more efficient lighting and HVAC systems at a handful of city buildings.
Meanwhile, another public forum about a long-discussed project to build a plant that would turn food waste into energy has been tentatively scheduled for next month.
Solar Panels
During a special meeting Tuesday (Aug. 26) Aldermen approved a contract with Greenskies, a Middletown-based solar energy company, to put 1,836 solar panels on top of the city’s old landfill off North Division Street.
The 560-kilowatt project would be part of the state’s “ZREC” renewable energy program, under which companies like Greenskies partner with municipalities to submit bids for green energy projects to Connecticut Light & Power and United Illuminating.
Click here to learn more about the program.
UI notified Ansonia last month that its solar plans for the landfill had won approval in the latest round of bids.
Third Ward Alderman Joseph Jeanette, who works for United Illuminating, abstained from Tuesday’s vote. Fourth Ward Alderman Jerome Fainer voted against approving the contract because Greenskies officials were not present at the meeting.
Chris Tymniak, the city’s chief administrative officer, said Greenskies officials would be present at the board’s next meeting, scheduled for Sept. 9. Fainer worried Aldermen were “putting the cart before the horse.”
Mayor David Cassetti told the Board of Aldermen at its Aug. 11 meeting that once the project is up and running, it would save the city $1.6 million over the next 20 years.
“These savings will be seen in our UI bill,” the mayor said.
Tymniak told the Aldermen Aug. 11 that last month’s bid win came as a surprise.
“I didn’t think we stood a shot at getting it this year,” he said. “We got it, so I say we run with it now.”
Article continues after presentation on the project distributed to Aldermen Aug. 11.
Ansonia Solar Panel Presentation
Officials in neighboring Derby detailed their own plan to put solar panels on their old landfill last week.
Tymniak told the Aldermen the $1.1 million project would be financed by Greenskies.
A site plan for the project would have to be approved by the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission.
On Monday (Aug. 25) the PZC endorsed the development of further plans for the project.
Those plans could be on the agenda for the PZC’s September meeting, Tymniak said Tuesday (Aug. 26).
If approved, Greenskies would take about a month to actually put the solar panels on the landfill.
“This is costing the city zero and there’s only upside for us paying less,” Tymniak said.
Energy Audit
Aldermen on Aug. 11 also approved plans to move forward with plans to make City Hall, the public library, and the Ansonia Rescue Medical Services building on West Main Street more energy-efficient by:
- Replacing fluorescent lights inside and outside the buildings with LED lights which use less energy,
- Installing a web-based automation system to control the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems at City Hall.
The upgrades would cost a total of $236,120.
A grant from United Illuminating will pay for $94,161 of the upgrades.
The remaining $141,959 paid for in the form of a no-interest loan from UI to Ansonia that would be “rolled into” the city’s electric bill over the course of the next four years — or about $35,000 per year.
Meanwhile, the city would be saving roughly $48,000 per year on electricity costs.
Officials estimate the project will save the city $324,491 over the next 10 years in electricity costs.
The city’s Aldermen still have to approve a contract between the city and UI, which Tymniak said he hopes will be ready for the board’s next regular meeting, scheduled for Sept. 9.
Tymniak said that the city first looked into electricity efficiencies by hiring a firm to conduct an “energy audit” in 2011, under the administration of Mayor James Della Volpe.
“They thought the audit was a good idea, and we agree,” Tymniak said.
Food-To-Energy Plant
The city is also still in talks with a Brooklyn-based company that wants to build a $20.5 million anaerobic digestion facility on city-owned land next to the Water Pollution Control Authority on North Division Street.
Tymniak and officials from the company, Greenpoint Energy Partners, held private talks on the project last month.
Back in January 2013, the city hosted a public forum during which Greenpoint officials detailed their plans for the facility, which would accept up to 50,000 tons of food waste from the area per year, break it down in the plant, and recycle it as energy for the city to use.
Ansonia would benefit from cheaper electricity rates and taxes collected on the facility once it is built.
Greenpoint was of one of five companies to qualify for a loan from the state’s Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority. Last September 2013 the Greenpoint project was approved for a loan up to $4.5 million.
Click here, here, and here for previous stories.
Since then company officials said they’ve started the permitting process with the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Another public forum to update the public and answer questions had been scheduled for Sept. 4, but has since been postponed, to a tentatively-scheduled date of Sept. 25.
