The federal government is expected to bail out a delayed, over-budget South End flood control initiative, but the release of the dollars, and actual construction, are still months away. The massive coastal flood risk reduction initiative was launched locally after the destruction Hurricane Sandy caused in the South End in 2012. Once installed, the infrastructure network of new pumping stations, flood walls, raised streets and other related improvements are not only intended to safeguard lives and property, but expected to significantly lower flood insurance costs, spurring more private investment in the area. But the hope that Resilient Bridgeport initially inspired for the South End’s future has over the years given way to some frustration with the slow pace of the ongoing design process and the subsequent spike in the originally estimated budget. Over a year ago state officials applied for the additional $47.5 million from FEMA. And the grant is not quite a done deal.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/more-fed-dollars-coming-for-bridgeport-flooding-19375419.php

Norwich Public Utilities officials presented a proposed $105.9 million 2024-25 budget for all four of its service divisions that calls for a decrease in spending of $3.89 million, a 3.67% drop from this year’s budget. A five-year, $200 million upgrade of the city sewage treatment plant started this year, and planned major upgrades to the city’s drinking water and natural gas systems are budgeted next year. Wholesale purchased natural gas is budgeted at $2.5 million, down from $5.6 million in the 2023-24 fiscal year, and purchased power cost is budgeted at $31.8 million, down from $35.5 million this year. The drop mainly is due to the dramatic reduction in the cost of purchased wholesale power and natural gas. Those decreases come after spikes in wholesale power costs in recent years, caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and gas line transmission issues. The Board of Public Utilities Commissioners did not act on the proposed budget. NPU officials will present the proposed budget to the City Council during a workshop Tuesday, and the utilities commission is expected to vote on the budget either at its April 23 or May 28 meeting.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240327/norwich-public-utilities-proposed-budget-would-drop-by-3-89-million-next-year/

Nearly a year after some of the region’s largest offshore wind developers began making noises about pulling out of their projects because of increased costs, and six months after they actually did, a new round of bidding coordinated among three states appears to show that interest in developing offshore wind is still strong, even with larger price tags. A three-state solicitation by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island received project proposals from four different developers by the Wednesday deadline, two of which essentially rebid the projects they’d pulled out of. To Connecticut’s disadvantage, only one of the proposals designates the port of New London for construction and staging of the project. The rest plan to use ports in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection declined to comment on that, providing a statement that noted it would be reviewing the proposals. The largest set of proposals came from Avangrid — parent of United Illuminating and the American arm of the Spain-based energy powerhouse Iberdrola. Avangrid’s Vineyard Wind 1 project off Massachusetts is under construction and already delivering power to that state.

Plans for offshore wind power blow back into New England

Ørsted, the Danish energy company staging offshore wind projects at State Pier, announced Wednesday it has pitched a proposal for its biggest U.S. wind farm to date with New London as its base. The Danish wind giant was one of four companies to announce bids in the tri-state solicitation. Avangrid, SouthCoast Wind and Vineyard Offshore also made proposals as part of an auction in which the three states combined could enter power purchase agreements of up to 6,800 megawatts of offshore wind power. Vineyard Offshore, partnered with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, submitted a proposal to all three states for the 1,200-megawatt Vineyard Wind 2. SouthCoast Wind said it plans to develop an offshore lease area in two phases with the potential to generate more than 2,400 MW of wind power, enough to power more than 1 million homes, in a lease area 30 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and 20 miles south of Nantucket. Ørsted said it planned to use State Pier for staging and assembly of its new wind farm, which would power up to 600,000 homes. Ørsted and partner Eversource have already committed to using the newly revamped State Pier, which it leases, for work on three offshore wind projects.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240327/orsted-bids-new-offshore-wind-project-for-state-pier-in-new-london/

The Cedar Street bridge has reopened to downtown motorists after reconstruction, and workers have uncovered another section of Harbor Brook. But as the city moves toward expanding the Meriden Green to Cedar Street to create a sensory park, it is stymied by a lack of funding after several failed attempts to secure $5.5 million in state grants. The flood control project included bridge replacements on Cooper Street, Cook, Perkins, Coe and Bradley avenues and Cedar Street. The channel expansion will continue to the Center Street bridge where the rebuild is more involved and will likely take longer. There is considerably more utility work on that site that needs to be completed before construction begins. Mill Street will not close until the green expansion begins.
Completing the Cedar Street bridge project before starting on the larger Center Street project also facilitates a smoother transition while that roadway is closed.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/recordjournal/article/cedar-street-bridge-meriden-brook-park-19368866.php

Verogy, which works with all things solar energy, has a knack for turning landfills no longer fulfilling their original purpose into renewable energy. “All the landfills we’re using are what are called closed and capped,” said Brian Fitzgerald, the company’s director of development. “They’re no longer accepting any bulky waste and trash.” It’s one of the many ways Verogy uses land creatively to build solar facilities. In Glastonbury, it plans to use to sheep to maintain 15 acres of farmland for a solar facility there, a concept that has been proved successful at its facilities in East Windsor, Bristol, and Southington. Fitzgerald said many municipalities have these closed and capped landfills. At the same time, those communities might be looking for space for solar. That’s where Verogy comes in. “Every capped closed landfill has a set of plans to which the landfill was capped by,” Fitzgerald said. “Our engineers will review that and bring in third-party engineers to help in the review and make sure we’ve got everything covered so that our design won’t pose any issue. It’s really that initial diligence. Landfills do come in different shapes and sizes. It’s rare to see the same landfill.” Once completed, Fitzgerald said, a municipality should start seeing savings on its energy bills. In Middletown, that eventually will be turning the 2.5-acre and 80-foot-high landfill at the Middletown Transfer Station that was closed in 1991 into something more beneficial for the city, he said.

https://www.middletownpress.com/westhartford/article/west-hartford-ct-verogy-solar-landfills-19367874.php

Superior Court Judge Matthew Budzik sided with PURA in dismissing nine of the 12 counts of Aquarion’s appeal. He remanded two counts to PURA, along with part of a third. Budzik upheld PURA’s methodology in determining rate cases, saying that the agency has broad discretion. He dismissed Aquarion’s claim that the rate decision was “confiscatory.” He added: “It bears repeating that PURA possesses broad regulatory authority and equally broad discretion in setting rates.” The ruling also held that PURA correctly determined that, to be included as a pro forma adjustment to rate base, expenditures must be found to be prudent, and “used and useful.” Utilities have argued that they need to be able to recover costs of future capital investments. However, PURA says that utilities “may only earn a return on capital assets that are complete and servicing customers” – which the court decision affirmed.

‘Broad discretion in setting rates’: Judge sides with PURA, dismissing most claims in Aquarion’s rate cut appeal

As Eversource Energy continues to explore the sale of its Aquarion Water subsidiary, it’s unclear exactly how many companies may be interested in buying it. The purchase, however, will have a ripple effect across Connecticut with more than 236,000 customers in 72 municipalities across three states. Financial analysts have said the California-based corporate parent of Connecticut Water Co. is one of the likely suitors for the Bridgeport-based utility. Eversource acquired Aquarion for $1.675 billion in 2017. Another possibility is that Aquarion could be acquired by a private equity firm or a company that does infrastructure investment, according to Miller. One other scenario of Aquarion Water being acquired could involve the state of Connecticut.

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:https://www.ctinsider.com/business/article/multiple-suitors-likely-for-aquarion-water-19305092.php&strip=0&vwsrc=0

Many of the bids came back in the $140 million range on a project budgeted at $107 million, Capital Region Development Authority officials told the agency’s board on Thursday. Higher costs for labor and materials likely pushed the bids up above the original budget, according to Michael Freimuth, executive director of the CRDA. The first batch of bids will be shelved due to the high costs. The XL Center construction manager, design team, and CRDA construction experts will work together to reconfigure the renovation plan to cut costs, Freimuth said. The redesigned project plan is scheduled to be completed by mid-April and go out for a new round of bids in May.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/hartford-xl-center-renovation-bids-budget-19362576.php

The fate of the North 7 development plan is unknown after Stamford developer Building and Land Technology yanked its application for a 266-unit mixed-use apartment building over a city requirement that developers bury the utility lines. “At this point, to underground the overhead utilities that currently exist would literally cost several million dollars, and by our consulting engineers’ estimate, it would take about a year to do it,” Waters said. Despite BLT’s claims, several P&Z Commission members said they believed this requirement is fair. Commissioners were shocked by the withdrawal of the application.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/norwalk-blt-north-7-bury-underground-utility-19362713.php