Verogy, a leading Connecticut solar energy developer today (Jan 16) announced that the proposed 0.975-megawatt (MW) AC solar installation at the Town of Windham's former landfill is now at risk of cancellation due to unexpectedly high costs associated with connecting the project to the local electric grid. Typically, a solar project of less than 1MW, including the Windham landfill installation, would call for electric transmission interconnection upgrades that would cost approximately $50,000 to $300,000. The charges proposed by Eversource to connect the Windham landfill project to the grid are currently estimated to be $26 million.
In 2022, the Town of Windham began working with Hartford-based energy consultant TitanGen on a proposal to bring solar to the town's former landfill. Building solar on a former landfill brings numerous advantages, including repurposing land that would otherwise remain unused. By utilizing the landfill site, Windham would transform a burden into a community asset, providing locally generated renewable energy while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
TitanGen managed the RFP process for the Town of Windham, through which West Hartford-based solar developer Verogy was selected.
"The Windham landfill solar project is a great example of how innovative partnerships can drive sustainable progress," said Adam Teff, General Manager, TitanGen. "We've worked closely with the town and our partners to develop a project that would deliver important environmental and financial benefits to Windham residents, but the astronomical interconnection costs have created an almost insurmountable roadblock. We need immediate action to reform these barriers and ensure this project and others like it can move forward."
The project is designed to provide energy to several Town of Windham facilities, including the Town Hall, public safety complex, and other municipal buildings, while delivering significant benefits. Once energized, the Windham landfill installation would produce over 1,939,200 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of clean energy annually, enough to power more than 250 average homes for a year. Further, on an annual basis, the project would offset the equivalent of 1,303 metric tons of carbon dioxide, about the same amount of emissions generated by an average passenger vehicle driven more than 3.3 million miles every year.
Connecticut's interconnection process requires solar developers to bear the entire cost of any grid upgrades needed to accommodate new solar projects. These costs are often significantly higher than initially estimated, creating substantial financial barriers that can ultimately lead to project cancellations. In this case, the unexpected and exorbitant $26 million interconnection costs have put the Windham landfill project's future in jeopardy.
"Our team has a proven track record of designing and constructing landfill-based solar installations just like the project proposed for Windham," said Will Herchel, CEO of Verogy, the company responsible for design and construction of the project. "Unfortunately, unexpected interconnection costs are putting this vital project and its benefits at serious risk. Connecticut has made bold commitments to clean energy, yet outdated policies jeopardize projects that are vital to meeting those targets. We remain committed to collaborating with policymakers, utilities, and other stakeholders to address this challenge and make the Windham landfill solar project a reality."
Solar projects contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, stabilize energy prices, and increase the resilience of the grid by reducing peak demand. Upgrading the grid to accommodate these projects also provides systemic value that benefits everyone - by increasing reliability, enabling further clean energy development, and reducing dependence on fossil fuels. By making solar developers solely responsible for these costs, the state effectively overlooks these wider benefits, punishing those who are working to modernize and decarbonize Connecticut's energy infrastructure.
"For more than a decade, Connecticut's commercial solar developers have played a crucial role in advancing the state's clean energy goals, while creating thousands of good-paying jobs and building successful businesses," said Mike Trahan, Executive Director of the Connecticut Solar & Storage Association. "Solar developers are here to deliver much-needed renewable energy projects, not shoulder the bulk of the most significant grid upgrade in our lifetimes. The potential cancellation of the Windham landfill solar project underscores a larger systemic issue. While Connecticut has set bold targets, such as achieving 100% zero-carbon electricity by 2040, these goals are at risk if prohibitively high interconnection costs continue to stifle solar development. Grid upgrades are necessary to meet the state's electrification goals, but they will benefit all ratepayers. It's critical that we reform cost-sharing mechanisms to ensure projects like Windham's can move forward and that Connecticut remains on track to achieve its ambitious climate objectives."
The Windham solar installation, which represents a unique opportunity to transform an underutilized piece of land into a valuable source of clean energy, will remain stalled unless Connecticut adopts an equitable cost-sharing mechanism that reflects the benefits of grid upgrades for all stakeholders, including utilities and ratepayers.
"The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) is currently working to develop a framework for equitable cost-sharing for interconnection of renewables through Docket No. 22-06-29RE01," added Trahan. "This process, which aims to establish an approach to fairly sharing the costs of upgrading the electric grid, not only calls for regulatory reforms, but as importantly, engagement with legislators, utilities, and clean energy developers. It is only through a proactive, transparent process that Connecticut will be able to achieve an interconnection policy that equitably facilitates renewable energy development while supporting Connecticut's climate objectives."
Media Contact:
Jenna Behan
jbehan@verogy.com
860-559-5671
