Connecticut Innovations Inc., a quasi-public agency that administers a state fund’s investments in renewable energy projects, has expressly forbidden a former member of its board of directors from owning or managing a biomass project planned in Plainfield.
The extraordinary prohibition against J. Scott Guilmartin — a one-time airport valet parking magnate who serves as chairman of the Suffield Zoning and Planning Commission — is spelled out in the contract in which CII extended a loan of as much as $500,000 to the project developer, Plainfield Renewable Energy.
Under that pact, the limited liability corporation agreed that while Guilmartin, who also is a member of both the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority and the Republican State Central Committee, could be an employee, he would not be a “principal in the project” or a “member of its management board.”
The developer also pledged that Guilmartin would not be “an equity interest holder” in its planned 30-megawatt, wood-fueled biomass gasification plant.
Norwalk-based Plainfield Renewable Energy is a joint venture between Nupower LLC, which is located at the same address, and Decker Energy International, a biomass company based in Winter Park, Fla.
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Consulting Role
Guilmartin confirmed last week that he has business cards identifying him as a vice president of Plainfield Renewable Energy and listing his home address in Suffield and an e-mail address at “prellc.net.”
But Guilmartin added that he is simply a “consultant” to Nupower, and that while that firm also has listed him as a vice president, he holds no ownership stake in it.
“Nupower, which is a co-developer, I do work for,” he said. “I have a relationship with the project.”
CII officials said their unusual proviso was drawn up after the failure of another renewable energy project in Waterbury — in which Guilmartin had a financial interest — which it backed with $1.4 million in loans.
The money, which was handed out in increments beginning in 2000, came from the Renewable Energy Investment Fund, popularly known as the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund. The fund is administered by CII.
Customers of the Connecticut Light & Power Co. and of United Illuminating pay for the fund through a monthly surcharge on their electric bills.
By last year the fund had spent $37.5 million on various projects and committed an additional $27.3 million, according to its 2006 annual report, which also reported a $7.3 million net realized loss on investments.
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Loan Defaulted
Lisa Dondy, a CII vice president who serves as president of the clean energy fund, said last week that the $1.4 million has been “basically written off,” because the loans were collateralized solely with the corporate assets of the developer, Trumbull-based Connecticut Renewable Energy LLC.
“They’re in default on their loan,” she said. “It’s not technically written off, just in case of our recouping any of the funds. … But in reality, there’s nothing to claim against.”
Dondy also acknowledged that CII still was smarting from a controversy over allegations that Guilmartin adamantly disputes — that as a member of CII’s board of directors appointed by former Gov. John G. Rowland, he had a conflict of interest when negotiating payments for Connecticut Renewable Energy.
“In terms of that first project and the reason why the board did approve the loan for the second was because we did complete due diligence,” she said. “Decker Energy International is a renowned and very experienced biomass company with projects throughout the country. Our purpose is to get clean energy projects out there.”
