The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
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A Danbury company is applauding the passing of Senate Bill 9, An Act Concerning Connecticut’s Energy Future, even as the solar industry is decrying certain provisions of the legislation.
FuelCell Energy, which is headquartered in Danbury and has a manufacturing facility in Torrington, said the bill levels the playing field for fuel cell technology to thrive as an alternative energy source. Most importantly, the bill expands the megawatts available from 4 to 6 percent of the state’s energy load in the current Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Request for Proposals, or RFPs.
The DEEP is evaluating proposals.
“This bipartisan bill is a smart investment for Connecticut’s economy and environment,” said Chip Bottone, CEO of FuelCell Energy. “The passage of Senate Bill 9 will bolster Connecticut’s homegrown fuel cell industry that provides in-state benefits for Connecticut residents including tax revenue, job creation, enhancement of local power reliability and resiliency, and urban brownfield redevelopment.”
The bill easily passed both chambers to make it to the desk of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. It passed the Senate, 29-3, and the House, 100-45.
State Rep. David Arconti Jr., D-Danbury, said he worked on the language of the bill with Rep. Michelle Cook, D-Torrington, to bolster the fuel cell industry.
“The extra 2 percent allows fuel cells to compete with other technologies,” Arconti said. “I’m hopeful DEEP will include at least one fuel cell project in its latest RFP rounds.”
The bill also mandates that 40 percent of the state’s electricity come from renewable sources by 2030.
Fuel cell power is classified as a Class I renewable energy source in Connecticut and seven other states because of its efficiency, reliability, lack of emissions and the possibility that it may be fueled by renewable sources.
Fuel cells convert a fuel source into electricity and heat in a highly efficient process that emits virtually no pollutants. Bottone said fuel cells have modest landuse needs and operate quietly.
While the bill is seen as a win for the fuel cell industry, which has for years contended that its technology has been overlooked in favor of solar and wind energy, Senate Bill 9 did not sit well with the solar industry.
The Alliance for Solar Choice, or TASC, said the bill weakens one of the strongest solar energy policies in the country. TASC, a coalition of solar companies and other advocates of the industry, said the bill ignores the concerns of rooftop solar consumers and allows companies such as Eversource and United Illuminating to “siphon homegrown energy” from customers without paying full price. The bill jeopardized up to 2,200 jobs, TASC said.
The major complaint of the solar industry is with the change in net metering, a renewable energy pricing policy under which solar users may store or sell back unused energy generated during the day for use later.
The Connecticut Fund for the Environment praised several aspects of the bill, but agreed with the solar industry regarding net metering.
“(The bill’s) new limitations on net metering are problematic and bad for rooftop solar consumers,” the organization said in a release. “We will continue to fight for fair net metering that protects consumers and businesses next session and at the Public Utility Regulatory Authority.”
Arconti said the bill also includes several incentives and advancements for the solar industry. Solar projects done by 2020 will be grandfathered in to current net metering rules, he said.
“Without this bill some of the provisions would have gone away at the end of the year,” he said. “There are good things for solar in there, too.”