Future visitors to the Trumbull Mall could find a larger but more walkable property featuring hiking trails and a hotel, according to a series of ideas put forth by the consulting firm Stantec during a packed Town Hall meeting Tuesday on the mall’s future. The study focused on the area between Main Street and Madison Avenue, from the Merritt Parkway and the Bridgeport-Trumbull line. According to data gathered by the firm, the mall takes up over 1.1 million square feet and has around 2,300 parking spaces. If more commercial entities come to the area, it could expand to over 2.3 million square feet and over 5,000 parking spaces.

https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/trumbull-mall-study-meeting-ideas-18698210.php

The Green Bank shepherded the two towns through the process, including finding a contractor to build the solar installations and a way to finance the projects. The solar development company Greenskies Clean Focus, based out of North Haven, won the construction contract after a competitive bid. Although the Green Bank used a competitive bidding process for building the solar installations in both towns, they did no such bidding process for financing the project through a PPA. Instead, the Green Bank awarded the 20-year financing contract to Inclusive Prosperity Capital, a non-profit started by the Greenbank in 2018 with seven of the Greenbank’s employees, with no competitive bidding process at all. Financing a solar project through a PPA works like this: The company pays for the construction and installation costs and then recoups its money over time through selling the electricity generated by the solar panels back to the municipality with a few cents tacked on to the cost per kilowatt hour. The rate depends on the size of the project and how much money the finance company wants to make. Over the life of a 20-year contract, those few cents per kilowatt hour can add up quickly.

https://insideinvestigator.org/connecticut-green-bank-awards-no-bid-contracts-to-nonprofit-it-created/

The state of New York has conditionally awarded one of two offshore wind projects to Ørsted and Eversource, a move that could translate into more activity at New London’s State Pier. Work at State Pier associated with Sunrise Wind would mean the assembly and marshaling of an additional 84 turbines right behind Revolution Wind’s 65-turbine project, Hammond said. He said that means “a steady flow of economic benefits and family-sustaining jobs for the next three to four years before any new and anticipated business comes knocking on our door.” ome offshore wind projects were canceled and others allowed to exit power purchase agreements or rebid projects to account for increased costs associated with supply chain issues, inflation and higher interest rates. Ørsted, for example, last year canceled development of two projects, Ocean Wind 1 and Ocean Wind 2 in New Jersey. If Sunrise Wind comes to fruition, it would be the third and largest offshore wind project to be assembled at State Pier, where work just wrapped up on Ørsted and Eversource’s South Fork Wind, a smaller 12-turbine wind farm in New York.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240309/new-n-y-offshore-wind-project-would-bring-more-work-to-new-london/

Connecticut is set to receive millions of dollars in funding for local projects that are part of the first tranche of bills to fund the federal government — with likely more on the way if Congress negotiates and passes the second round later this month. So far, Connecticut’s delegation has secured about $138 million in funding, with more expected in the next package of bills. That includes earmarks for about 140 projects across the state for infrastructure and environmental investments, social services for families and children, affordable housing and funds for police departments. More than two-thirds of this batch will go toward infrastructure and transportation projects, while the remainder largely falls under economic development, social services, housing, energy and the environment.

CT to get $138M for local projects in first government funding bills

A proposal to study how large-scale data centers might affect the reliability of the state’s electric grid is drawing opposition from those who say it would delay critical development. The legislation would require the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to conduct the evaluation with the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the Office of Consumer Counsel and ISO-New England, the nonprofit corporation that manages the region’s power grid. It calls for the effort to be completed by July 1 of this year. Leaders with DEEP and the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development took opposing stances on the measure. Since the incentive was signed, a small number of developers have taken initial steps to begin data center construction in a few Connecticut towns. One major project — a hyperscale, 300-megawatt development on the site of the Millstone nuclear power station in Waterford — is closest to breaking ground. The developer behind that project, NE Edge, signed what’s known as a “host fee agreement” with the town last March, promising to pay a fee of $231 million over 30 years in lieu of property taxes, as provided for in the 2021 legislation.

https://www.theday.com/state/20240310/legislature-seeks-data-center-study-concerns-raised-over-delays/

Come 2025, Westport should get a new bridge over Sasco Creek. The current bridge, which was built around 1965, starts at the intersection of Old Road and Wakeman Lane and has fallen into disrepair, the state Department of Transportation has determined. The bridge work could start in spring 2025, Wilberg said, and will take until about that November. With Planning and Zoning on board, the approvals will be sent to the state and Fairfield’s design engineers, and then will need CTDOT and Army Corps of Engineer approvals. Cost of the project is set about $3 million, with 80 percent paid by the state and 20 percent shared by Westport and Fairfield, Wilberg said. Fairfield may pay more than 10 percent since their population is greater than Westport’s.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/westport/article/westpor-fairfield-sasco-creek-bridge-replacement-18704668.php

People from rural towns across the state with concerns that the Connecticut Siting Council has legal jurisdiction over the location of solar power facilities, rather than the municipalities, are hoping new legislation could give them more control of their land. Of particular interest to many who testified is HB 5361, which would give municipalities the opportunity for local control if that town was within a five-mile radius of a project greater than 100 megawatts. “The Siting Council has a very important task to do and, to some degree, needs autonomy to do that work,” said Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield. “Nevertheless, the composition and expertise of the council is important to provide more accountability, transparency, and a better decision-making process with checks and balances.”

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/ct-siting-council-renewable-energy-solar-farms-18709245.php

Both the East Norwalk Train Station and a section of East Avenue will be closed for three weeks starting Monday due to construction work related to the Walk Bridge replacement project. The East Norwalk improvements are part of the $1 billion project to replace the 128-year-old Walk Bridge that connects millions of people to the Northeast train corridor. As a part of the work, East Norwalk will have a new train station along with other rail improvements that will cut travel time down on the New Haven Line of Metro-North.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/east-norwalk-train-station-east-avenue-closed-18749530.php

An advanced fuel cell array that could turbo-charge future manufacturing in New Britain is in its final stages of testing and could hook up to the power grid as soon as May, according to city officials. The 67-fuel cell array — installed outdoors in a dilapidated section of the Stanley Works complex at 600 Myrtle St. — awaits final testing and approvals. Once the $80 million project gets the green light, the fuel cells will power up to supply up to 20 megawatts of electricity to the larger power grid, said Jack Benjamin, New Britain’s director of planning and development. For the City of New Britain, the project is expected to complement the recent surge in housing development in the downtown, which is an easy walking distance from Stanley Works, Benjamin said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/new-britain-ct-fuel-cells-stanley-works-18756860.php

A developer picked by the town of East Hartford for the tricky redevelopment of a historic, but rundown downtown building into a modern 24-unit apartment building can now access $760,000 in state grant funds. East Hartford’s Town Council, on Tuesday, unanimously agreed to grant access to those funds to developer Parker Benjamin – who was selected as a development partner on the project last year. The Unionville-based developer specializes in adaptive reuse. “Church Corners, historically, was an integral part of downtown East Hartford,” Town Council Chair Richard Kehoe told the Hartford Business Journal Wednesday. “This new project will restore Church Corners to its former glory and is a harbinger of what we hope will also occur with downtown East Hartford.”

East Hartford makes $760,000 in state funds available to Church Corners redevelopment