While hydrogen has tremendous potential for helping with decarbonization in the fight against global warming, it is hindered by the cost of producing it cleanly — which makes an event held Wednesday in Wallingford a step in the right direction. Nel Hydrogen, a Norway-based company that produces clean hydrogen from renewable resources, hosted local, state and federal officials, and current and potential customers from around the world, to celebrate its newly renovated and expanded facility at 10 Technology Drive. The global company, which reported $333.7 million in revenue but a net loss of $104.8 million in the third quarter of 2024, invested about $30 million to renovate and modernize its approximately 100,000-square-foot manufacturing facility to increase its capacity for producing electrolyzers, which use electricity to separate hydrogen and oxygen from water. Sunita Satyapal, the director of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office of the U.S. Department of Energy, attended the event and praised Nel’s efforts to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen. She also said the federal bipartisan infrastructure law signed by President Biden in 2021 includes a National Clean Hydrogen Strategy.

Green hydrogen producer Nel debuts $30M renovation of Wallingford plant

Nine companies were cited last Thursday when a surprise state Department of Labor inspection determined that some appeared to be misclassifying workers as independent contractors and others were not providing workers compensation for employees. Belfonti Companies, the Hamden-based developer company doing the massive project, did not respond to a phone message Wednesday. A staff member would say only that Chief Executive Officer Michael Belfonti was away for the day. The stop-work orders apply only to the specific subcontractors cited, so work by other crews is allowed to continue. “The Wage and Workplace Standards Division rescinds the stop work orders when the employer resolves the violations,” department spokeswoman Juliet Manalan said Wednesday. “In these cases, the employer must show proof of sufficient workers compensation insurance for their employees and correct classification of workers.” “We’ve put a lot of state money into this, the town of Rocky Hill has put a lot of money into it with a tax abatement,” Lesser said. “All employers have to pay workers comp. We really need contractors to do the right thing and treat their workers fairly — that’s why this is such a disappointment.

Slew of ‘stop work’ orders hit CT signature housing project. Why and what’s being done.

Voters will consider whether Connecticut should amend its constitution to permit anyone to vote by absentee ballot, whether to renovate and expand 100-year-old Macdonough Elementary School, and whether to construct a new emergency operations center. Central Communications is the 911 service provider for Middletown and Portland. The anticipated project is a rebuild of the one-room public safety office at the Cross Street firehouse. If approved, the center would move to the emergency operations facility at 499 Mile Lane and co-located with the old U.S. Army Reserve Center. “There are questions that people need to understand that are going to have an impact on the long-term prosperity and future of our community,” Florsheim said during a news conference Friday at City Hall. “Voting is not the only part of civic engagement, but it is the fundamental basis for our democracy,” the mayor added.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/middletown-voting-election-bond-referendums-59m-19854522.php

Four local agencies are set to receive money from the State Bond Commission, which met Tuesday to approve a lengthy list of requests ranging from a designs for a new library, to supporting ongoing renovations and restoration of the Thomaston Opera House and renovations to the Warner Theatre. From the Department of Economic and Community Development’s Community Investment Fund, Torrington’s Warner Theatre is receiving $1.5 million for renovations and improvements to the Art Deco building on Main Street. The money will be used to improve the stage-level dressing rooms and the back of the house, to make it more appealing to national acts, according to theater administrators. The plan is to renovate the Warner’s historic building, lobby, and stage, including the HVAC and electrical systems, and to fix accessibility issues, according to theater co-executive director Stephanie Fried said. The theater will also modernize its sound, lighting, lighting control, security and smoke alarm systems. The Thomason Opera House is receiving $2 million from the Community Investment Fund to support its continuing renovation and restoration of the historic building. The phased renovation project began in early 2024, and is a collaboration between the town, Thomaston Opera House Commission, Friends of the Thomaston Opera House and Landmark Community Theatre.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/ct-bond-commission-torrington-area-projects-19851703.php

New Britain officials are trumpeting a newly approved $6 million state grant that will be used to demolish buildings at its former Department of Public Works yard on Harvard Street and prepare the 3.1-acre site for redevelopment. Officials hope to see the former DPW yard at 55 and 70 Harvard St., which sits near a CTfastrak bus stop, become a mix of multifamily housing and other uses that will take advantage of this mass-transit option. The state Bond Commission on Tuesday signed off on the $6 million grant. The request was initially endorsed by the state’s Community Investment Fund board in September. The roughly $55 million greenhouse construction in the Maine project is being funded and managed by Vertical Harvest Farms, a partner recruited for the development. The apartment portion of the project has not yet launched.

$6M state grant to clear New Britain DPW yard for mixed-use, transit-oriented development 

More maintenance work is expected to start next summer on the Saugatuck River Railroad Bridge, with construction mainly planned for overnight. The railings and grating will be constructed of fiberglass-reinforced plastic, which weighs less than steel and is corrosion-resistant, project manager Everett Milam said at a virtual meeting about the bridge on Monday. Other track construction and the close proximity to high-voltage lines adds to the project time, Milam said. It is also north of the Norwalk Walk Bridge project, which could change the schedule. The Saugatuck bridge project is expected to start summer 2025, lasting about 12 months and costing between $5 million and $7.5 million, with all of that being state funded.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/westport-saugatuck-river-railroad-bridge-19854114.php

The Bond Commission approved nearly $36 million for the northbound Gold Star Bridge renovation, which represents the state’s matching funds for the current phase of the work, which includes testing, replacing, repairing and reinforcing steel under the bridge, said state Rep. Christine Conley, D-Groton. As each step of the construction proceeds, the state will appropriate the matching funds. The state Department of Transportation said this spring that the $591 million construction project, which includes steel and concrete repairs, the replacement of the bridge deck and bearings, painting, new lights, railing and fencing, will be undertaken with 90% federal funds and 10% state matching funds. The commission awarded New London $250,000 for planning related to the redevelopment of the Gordon Court senior housing units overseen by the city’s Housing Authority. The authority is planning a $65 million project that calls for demolishing the three 60-year-old state-overseen housing complexes it operates – Gordon Court, the George Washington Carver Apartments on Colman Street and Riozzi Court – and replacing them with single buildings.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20241022/state-bond-commission-approves-funding-for-gold-star-bridge-local-projects/#

Housing, schools, and roads were the top priorities during a special meeting of the state Bond Commission on Tuesday at the Legislative Office Building. Gov. Ned Lamont laid out his spending priorities for the Bond Commission at the top of the meeting. The commission’s agenda included 43 items that provided funding for everything from hazardous waste mitigation for the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to a study for developing a site in Rocky Hill to house the new State Archives. Overall, the big winner of the day was the Department of Transportation, which will receive over $650 million for various projects around the state. The Department of Administrative Services will receive $250 million to finance the state’s share of the cost of current payments for the construction of local school building projects and technical high schools. There was also funding for several state agencies to complete renovations and repairs to state facilities.

Bond Commission Approves $1.4 Billion In New Borrowing At Special Meeting

The Common Council voted unanimously at its Oct. 9 meeting to approve a $5.4 million bid for the project by Bristol-based Martin Laviero Contractor, Inc. The project will be paid entirely with state funds. New Britain Public Works Director Mark Moriary said the extensive project will begin in the spring and be completed by summer 2026. Moriarty told CT Examiner that the project will include narrowing 1.25 miles of roadway from 48 feet to 32 feet, installing new granite curbing, creating a new multiuse trail, building new concrete sidewalks and pedestrian ramps to meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards, installing new catch basins, milling and paving, new signage and pavement markings and new trees. The project is being funded completely by a grant from the state’s Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program.

New Britain OKs $5.4M in Long-Awaited Upgrades to John Downey Drive

The state’s Department of Transportation has expanded on its plans to overhaul and reconstruct the busy Bishops Corner intersection at North Main Street and Albany Avenue. The plans will be the subject of a public meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 22, at the Bishops Corner Senior Center at 6:30 p.m. The current sidewalks will be replaced by eight foot side paths that will be equally divided for use by pedestrians and cyclists. West Hartford itself is currently in the process of creating its own bike facility plan that will guide them in expanding and updating its bike lane network. The plans are estimated to cost the state around $7.8 million, an increase from the previous estimate of $5.5 million, which was before the inclusion of the new side path meant to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists. The state said that 80 percent of the project will be funded by federal money, with the rest being state funds.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/westhartford/article/west-hartford-bishops-corner-intersection-plans-19851300.php