In two separate votes, the Connecticut Siting Council on Wednesday approved plans by Bridgeport to put a solar and fuel cell Green Energy Park at a former landfill site.
The siting council, which decides on the approval of power plant proposals, approved the solar portion of the park in a 6-1 vote and the fuel cell portion in a 7-0 vote.
The project consists of 9,000 solar panels and a 2.8 megawatt fuel cell on the city’s closed landfill. It is the second Connecticut landfill after Hartford to put up solar panels and the first with a combined solar-fuel cell generating facility.
Orange electric utility United Illuminating will oversee, execute, and maintain the energy park that is expected to create 92 jobs and bring in $7 million in tax revenue during its 20-year lease.
Bridgeport has more megawatts of fuel cell energy than any city outside of South Korea. Once this system is installed, the city will have 19 megawatts of installed fuel cell power.
