The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has issued a request for proposals to redevelop the waste-to-energy facility in Hartford as well as other facilities that have been operated by the Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority – formerly known as the Connecticut Resource Recovery Authority.
The legislature passed a bill last year that aims to reduce over time Connecticut’s reliance on burning trash. Part of that bill calls for the Hartford plant to be run by a private operator.
Through the RFP, the state hopes to develop a new system, including new technologies that will assist the state in reaching its goal to divert 60 percent of materials currently burned or sent to landfills. Responses for the RFP are due by March 1.
The facility has buildings on Maxim Road and Reserve Road on an 80-acre site near the Hartford Regional Market and Brainard Airport. At the facility, solid waste is processed into a fuel for two 45 Megawatt steam turbine generators that produce power offered on a daily basis into the ISO-New England Power Market.
The Hartford facility is now known as The Connecticut Solid Waste System Resource Recovery Facility. It has been in operation since 1988 and is permitted to process 888,000 tons of municipal solid waste annually. It currently receives solid waste from approximately 50 of Connecticut’s cities and towns.
Other facilities covered by the RFP are the Regional Recycling Center at 211 Murphy Rd., Hartford, and transfer stations in Watertown, Torrington, Essex, and Ellington.
DEEP said the sites don’t have to be maintained as is. It said it is open to proposals that would close some facilities and/or identify new sites.
DEEP will evaluate redevelopment proposals in several phases. The winning developer will be announced in 2017.
Private waste-to-energy operators in Connecticut include Covanta and Wheelabrator.
