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NO to the Killingly Fossil-Fuel Plant and YES to Clean Energy in 2019
GCA environmental advocates said NO to the Killingly fossil-fuel plant and YES to clean energy in 2019
Plans for the Killingly Energy Center (KEC) in northeast CT, an unneeded and toxic 650-MW gas power plant, have progressed over the past year despite mounting opposition by environmental advocates.
Two permit applications have gone forward: a KEC water discharge permit, approved by DEEP in early January, 2021; and an Eversource permit for a gas pipeline from Pomfret to Killingly approved by DEEP in December, 2020. Environmentalists see this pipeline as a threat to local habitat and endangered species. A final DEEP determination is pending. Killingly area opponents have brought a lawsuit related to the plant’s approval by the CT Siting Council. The State Supreme Court has yet to render a decision in this case, but a finding against KEC is not anticipated.
Meanwhile, concerted opposition to KEC is reflected in an ongoing stream of op-eds (read GCA’s Op-Ed here) and letters to the editor; hundreds of letters and calls to Governor Lamont and DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes; and numerous activist events including an on-line December press event sponsored by multiple organizations, including Citizens’ Campaign for the Environment, Sierra Club CT, the CT League of Conservation Voters, Clean Water Action, 350.org, and the youth organization, Sunrise.
Despite this mounting pressure, both Governor Lamont and Commissioner Dykes have not put the brakes on KEC. Dykes puts the onus of responsibility for KEC on ISO-New England, the manager of our regional electric power grid, which in 2019 awarded KEC a spot in its “power auction.”
Regardless of the fact that the build-out of KEC would thwart his goal of a 100% carbon-free power by 2040, Governor Lamont has not demonstrated the political will to halt Killingly. As recently as last week, the Governor repeated that he doesn’t want to build KEC, but in a February 3rd interview on CT Public Radio’s Where We Live, he said that at this point there might not be a lot he can do to stop the plant.
KEC opponents continue to apply concerted pressure, and advocates are shining a light on the DEEP-approved plan to replace a 375-MW gas plant in Middletown with a gas-powered “upgrade” rather than carbon-free technology. Hope is now pinned on a bill introduced in the CT legislature by Sen. Christine Cohen that would place a moratorium on all new fossil-fuel power plants in the state.
Energy
GCA is monitoring legislative action on policies supporting the deployment of renewable energy resources. House Bill 7251, AN ACT CONCERNING LONG-TERM CONTRACTS FOR CERTAIN CLASS I GENERATION PROJECTS AND THE RESIDENTIAL SOLAR INVESTMENT PROGRAM AND REQUIRING A STUDY OF THE VALUE OF SOLAR, unanimously passed the Energy & Technology Committee and awaits action by the full General Assembly before it adjourns June 5th.
The bill would preserve net metering for those generating electricity from Class I renewable resources and increase the megawatt amount of solar for which the Green Bank may provide financial incentives through its Residential Solar Investment Program (RSIP).