NuPower to Build Wood-Burning Site in Plainfield

By Richard Lee, The Stamford Advocate, Conn.

Mar. 9–A Norwalk company has teamed with a pioneering Florida power plant builder to propose a power facility that could lead to an increased supply for Connecticut.

Norwalk-based NuPower LLC, established three years ago by Daniel Donovan and Scott Gilmartin, plans to build a wood-burning facility in Plainfield at a cost of $60 million to $70 million, along with Decker Energy International Inc. in Winter Park, Fla.

“Connecticut is in desperate need for projects like this. Its electrical generators are primarily older plants,” said Donovan, who has been involved in financing energy and technology transactions for more than 25 years. The proposal for the plant, also called a biomass facility, comes as installation of power lines from central Connecticut into Fairfield County has started. The county has the greatest demand in Connecticut for increased electric capacity.

Donovan, managing member of NuPower, and Gilmartin, its vice president, met in 1999 while working on an energy project and later on legislative issues involving renewable energy.

“Connecticut is a dynamic marketplace in terms of power,” said Gilmartin, whose work in biomass gasification started in 1998. “We’ll look at other opportunities, particularly small generating projects in Fairfield County. We have a location in Fairfield County that would be ideal for a 75- to 100-megawatt project. It would be a conventional generating project – probably using natural gas.”

Gilmartin declined to identify the prospective site. He suggested Fairfield County residents be receptive to small generation facilities in their region, where electrical power is at a premium. Establishing small generating plants, however, is not a simple task, Gilmartin said, stressing that much depends on the reception by state, regional and federal utility agencies.

Connecticut, however, seems to be more receptive to electricity generating projects that use renewable resources, Donovan said, crediting state lawmakers for passing legislation to encourage clean energy development. Donovan is speaking from experience. He has had on-going conversations with state legislators and agencies on the subject. In 1998, he established Prospero LLC, a merchant bank that provides financial advice and capital to middle-market and development-stage companies, including those in the renewable energy market.

Originally in Westport, Prospero and NuPower are located at 20 Marshall St. “It’s not just being clean and green. It’s a necessity in Connecticut,” Donovan said, warning that demand for power is increasing. “We need over 1,000 new megawatts this year.”

The Plainfield plant would make a dent in the power demand by 2008, when NuPower expects to open the facility.

“It will take more than a year to get our air permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection,” Donovan said, predicting that an application will be submitted in two months.

An application to build the plant on a Superfund site will be submitted to the state Siting Council “soon,” he said.

“Scott found a Superfund site vacant for many years and not on the tax rolls. It matched all our criteria. It’s close to transmission lines and highways,” Donovan said.

The project would create 250 construction jobs and 25 permanent jobs – important in a state were the job creation rate is stagnant. While NuPower had the experience and seed money to lay the foundation for the Plainfield project, it needed a partner to provide additional funds and expertise and found Decker through its dealings in the power production business.

“We know a lot of people in common. It’s a fairly small industry,” said Sam McConnell, manager director at Decker. He said NuPower laid much of the groundwork for the project, including finding a site, determining the need for additional power in Connecticut and ascertaining the wood supply in the state. “We’re thrilled with the relationship to date. The project they brought us is needed and very strong.”

Since 1982, Decker has been involved in 14 power generating projects at a capital cost of $850 million. Six of them burn wood. McConnell made it clear that trees would not be cut to power the plant. The process converts wood into gas, which is combusted. Wood would come from tailings from logging operations and construction and demolition projects in the state.

“The technology will surpass any plants we have. Technology is getting better over time,” McConnell said. “It will burn 900 tons a day. We’ll have a capacity of 30 megawatts — enough to power 25,000 to 35,000 homes indefinitely.”

Board members overseeing the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund were so impressed by the plan that they approved a loan of up to $500,000 for preliminary work.

The fund is operated by Connecticut Innovations, a quasi-governmental organization established by the General Assembly. Connecticut Innovations, through the fund, is supporting a similar project in the Watertown area, company spokesman Charles Moret said.

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