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A 1.4 megawatt FuelCell Energy, Inc. power plant in California.
DERBY — The Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen voted 6 – 2 last week to allow a private company to lease city-owned land on Coon Hollow Road so the company can build a 2.8 megawatt fuel cell power plant.
The city will receive $50,000 a year in revenue for 20 years, according to the terms of the lease agreement made public before the May 13 meeting. The fuel cell will produce electricity that will be pumped into the electrical grid.
FuelCell Energy, Inc. of Danbury will build and maintain the fuel cell power plant after the company receives approvals from the Connecticut Siting Council. The council has jurisdiction over public utilities and electric-generating facilities.
Assuming its passes through the siting council, the electric-generating fuel cell will be constructed at 49 Coon Hollow Road, at the site of the former Derby dog pound, a badly-run facility that closed in April 2012.
During an Aldermen/Alderwomen meeting last Thursday (May 13), Derek Phelps, the director of marketing and project development for FuelCell Energy, Inc., compared the fuel cell’s building footprint to the size of a tennis court, and its size to a “small, conventional three-bedroom house.”
FuelCell Energy Inc. has fuel cells all over the state.
Phelps compared the Coon Hollow Road project to a 2.8 megawatt fuel cell the company built on a landfill in Bridgeport.
The company is currently building a much larger, 14 megawatt fuel cell at 200 Roosevelt Drive in Derby, near the former Derby Cellular Products.
While the Roosevelt Drive fuel cell is near industrial buildings, the fuel cell on Coon Hollow Road will be built on about 13,000 square feet between the public works complex and the city’s dog park, behind Derby High School and near a condominium complex. The land is zoned for public use.
At last week’s meeting, Thomas Malone, a New Haven resident who operates Windham Solar LLC and Allco Renewable Energy Limited, urged the Aldermen/Alderwomen to get more information from FuelCell Energy, Inc. about potential impacts to the environment. Malone suggested the company submit documentation to the city to support their statements.
Malone said fuel cells are not “green,” and, in a document submitted to the city and entered into the record, described the fuel cell as “climate destroying.”
“I certainly would not want to live near one,” Malone said.
Malone also said the city was showing favoritism to FuelCell Energy by wording a request for proposals so that FuelCell would be the only qualified bidder.
Phelps and a lawyer for his company brushed off Malone’s comments, saying he wasn’t correct.
“As a matter of law, fuel cells, including fuel cells that operate on natural gas, are recognized as class one, which is the top tier of the renewable resources in the State of Connecticut, right alongside solar and right alongside wind-based energy,” Phelps said.
Phelps said fuel cells extract hydrogen from natural gas. The hydrogen is pushed through electrolyte and combined with oxygen. Electricity is produced that will be pushed out to Derby’s electrical grid.
Phelps said there’s no combustion involved, so no air pollution from burning fuel.
This video was produced by FuelCell Energy, Inc.:
Mayor Rich Dziekan’s administration supports the fuel cell because the city needs the money. Derby’s residential property owners have been taking on a bigger and bigger share of the tax burden and the commercial and industrial sectors shrink. The mayor pointed out several times the shuttered dog pound does nothing for the city’s bottom line because it doesn’t generate taxes.
Second Ward Alderman Ron Sill and First Ward Alderwoman Barbara DeGennaro made comments pointing out the fuel cell will be next to the dog park, which was funded by grant money. A Derby Eagle Scout built the ramps and assorted dog-features within the park. Sill pointed out the dog park is a popular destination for people.
In an email after last week’s meeting, Andrew Baklik, Dziekan’s chief of staff, said there are no plans to close the dog park or take away parking spaces from the dog park.
“In fact, it is likely improvements will be made to both,” Baklik said. “The dog pound building itself is part of the Department of Public Works property and is not attached to the parking for the dog park or the dog park itself.”
At last week’s meeting Phelps said the fuel cell would be about 13 feet tall. A security fence will be installed. He said his company plans to clean up the property.
“I will tell you that, in my opinion, aesthetically we are going to clean up the area quite a bit,” he said.
DeGennaro voted against granting the lease, as did First Ward Alderwoman Sarah Widomski.
