Top story: The continuing saga of Invenergy’s power plant
BURRILLVILLE — The fight to thwart Invenergy Thermal Development’s efforts to construct a $1 billion fracked gas and diesel oil burning power plant in Pascoag was the major news story in Burrillville in 2018.
It was a roller-coaster year with much of the recent controversy centered around the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) decision in November to approve Independent System Operator New England’s (ISO-NE) request to terminate the proposed Clear River Energy Center’s capacity supply obligation contract.
ISO-NE, the operator of the regional power grid, filed its request with the Federal Regulatory Commission on Sept. 20. The commission had 60 days to render a decision, which was handed down in late November.
ISO-NE is canceling the plant’s capacity supply obligation, or CSO – which Invenergy won at auction for half of the Clear River plant’s generating capacity – because it does not believe the plant can be completed in time to deliver the power it has promised. The Clear River plant has been delayed by hearings and the developer’s search for an adequate water source.
The original commercial operation date for the project was June 2019, and ISO-NE granted Clear River Unit 1 a CSO in early 2016, for the June 1, 2019 to May 31, 2020 Capacity Commitment Period. Since then, with the plant delayed, Invenergy has covered the Clear River capacity auction for the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 commitment periods.
Because Invenergy covered the CSO for two periods, and because of the delays in project development, ISO-NE said it had the authority, with FERC approval, to cancel the capacity obligation.
Opponents of the plant called the decision a major blow to Invenergy, but the company says the FERC ruling will not impact the future of the project.
In the meantime, the state Energy Facility Siting Board, which granted a stayed in the final series of public hearings on the power plant pending the FERC decision, has reconvened those hearings, which are expected to continue through February 2019
Here’s a look back at what else made the news in Burrillville in 2018:
• The Rhode Island Department of Transportation joins state and town officials to highlight the recent completion of the Railroad Avenue Bridge using composite materials to replace the bridge and reopen it to traffic in just four months. RIDOT also was able to wrap up construction prior to winter, putting the project seven months ahead of its scheduled completion date.
• The Burrillville School Department receives $146,000 in state and utility grants to replace old incandescent bulbs and lighting fixtures with more energy efficient LEDs in three school buildings. The three schools receiving these lighting upgrades are the William L. Callahan Elementary School, Steere Farm Elementary School and Austin T. Levy School.
• Five of 25 cats rescued from a hoarding situation in Burrillville have at least one eye removed due to untreated infections and ulcers. Described as one of the worst feline hoarding situations the town has seen in years, all 25 cats taken from the home are found to be in need of various levels of veterinary care, including five felines require eye enucleation.
• Pascoag Utility District linemen Glen Derby, Chris Piccardi and Doug Menard head to the Florida Panhandle to assist the public power communities impacted by Hurricane Michael.
The three-man Pascoag crew are part of a convoy representing not-for-profit state and local community-owned electric utilities from Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
• Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin files an amicus curiae brief in Rhode Island Superior Court challenging the Invenergy’s controversial water-supply plan for its proposed $1 billion fracked gas and diesel oil burning power plant in Pascoag. Amicus briefs are legal documents filed in appellate court cases by non-litigants with a strong interest in the subject matter.
• The town’s animal control department begins operating out of construction trailers during what is expected to be a months-long project to renovate the animal shelter on Clear River Drive.
As part of the project now underway, the shelter’s entire kennel section is demolished and replaced with a new 2,100-square-foot kennel. The improvements and updates were needed to comply with new state Department of En- vironmental Management regulations.
• Retiring Schools Superintendent Frank Pallotta bids a fond farewell to the school district he served for more than nine years. He is succeeded by Dr. Michael Sollitto, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction for Scituate Public Schools, who was appointed by the Burrillville School Committee earlier this year.
• Veteran firefighter Michael E. Gingell is named the new chief of the Harrisville Fire Department. Gingell, 60, succeeds former longtime Harrisville Fire Chief Mark St. Pierre.
• The Burrillville School Committee approves a resolution that supports state legislation to designate schools as so-called “gun-free” zones. The gun-free zone measure supports General Assembly efforts to ban firearms on school grounds, “except by peace officers” as defined in state law.
• Beer and wine tastings are now available in Burrillville thanks to the Town Council‘s vote to approve a proposed zoning code amendment to allow breweries, brewpubs, wineries, distilleries in town. Breweries and distilleries had been prohibited under the town’s general ordinances, but are now allowed with the newly-approved zoning amendment that establishes a framework which will allow the town to locate and review applications for not only breweries and distilleries, but brewpubs and farm wineries as well.
• The town launches the Burrillville Addiction Assistance Program, a new and innovative endeavor created to start conversations about recovery at the community level. As part of the program, Burrillville police officers and state certified recovery coach Michelle Harter visit homes of recent overdose victims to provide them with direct access to recovery resources, including same-day referrals to treatment.