Solar energy project developer Verogy today released information that a planned 975 kW solar project on a former landfill in Windham, Connecticut, has generated an estimated bill of $26 million for grid interconnection. Typically, transmission interconnection upgrades for projects less than 1 MW cost approximately $50,000 to $300,000.
Local utility Eversource, which serves customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, is the entity proposing the $26 million estimate. Verogy said the landfill solar project is now at risk of cancellation due to the unexpectedly high cost of the interconnection, which the project developers are expected to have to pay in full.
The City of Windham began exploring solar energy options in 2022, and energy consultant TitanGen ultimately selected Verogy through an RFP to develop a project at the landfill.
“The Windham landfill solar project is a great example of how innovative partnerships can drive sustainable progress,” said Adam Teff, CEO of TitanGen. “We have worked closely with the city and our partners to develop a project that would deliver significant environmental and financial benefits to the residents of Windham, but the astronomical interconnection costs have created a nearly insurmountable roadblock. We need immediate action to reform these barriers and ensure this project and others like it can move forward.”
A Verogy project.
The project is designed to provide energy to several Windham facilities, including City Hall, the Public Safety Complex and other municipal buildings, while delivering significant benefits.
Connecticut’s interconnection process requires solar developers to bear the full cost of any grid upgrades needed to enable new solar projects. These costs are often significantly higher than initially estimated, creating significant financial barriers that can ultimately lead to project cancellations. In this case, the unexpected and excessive interconnection costs of $26 million have jeopardized the future of the Windham landfill project.
“Our team has a proven track record of designing and building landfill-based solar energy facilities, much like the project proposed for Windham,” said Will Herchel, CEO of Verogy. “Unfortunately, unexpected interconnection costs seriously jeopardize this critical project and its benefits. Connecticut has made bold commitments to clean energy, but outdated policies are jeopardizing projects essential to achieving these goals. We remain committed to working with policymakers, utilities and other stakeholders to address this challenge and make the Windham landfill solar project a reality.”
Upgrading the electric grid to accommodate solar projects delivers systemic value that benefits everyone – by increasing reliability, enabling further clean energy development and reducing dependence on fossil fuels. By making solar developers solely responsible for these costs, the state is essentially ignoring these broader benefits and penalizing those working to modernize and decarbonize Connecticut’s energy infrastructure, Verogy says.
“For more than a decade, Connecticut’s commercial solar developers have played a critical role in advancing the state’s clean energy goals while creating thousands of good-paying jobs and building successful businesses,” said Mike Trahan , executive director of Connecticut Solar & Storage. Association. “Solar developers are here to deliver much-needed renewable energy projects, not to shoulder the brunt of the biggest grid upgrade in our lifetimes. The possible cancellation of the Windham landfill solar project underscores a larger systemic problem. While Connecticut has set bold goals, such as achieving 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040, these goals are at risk if prohibitively high interconnect costs continue to hinder solar energy development. Electric grid upgrades are necessary to achieve the state’s electrification goals, but all ratepayers will benefit. It is critical that we reform cost-sharing mechanisms to ensure that projects like Windham can move forward and that Connecticut stays on track to meet its ambitious climate goals.”
Windham’s solar facility, which represents a unique opportunity to convert an underutilized tract of land into a valuable source of clean energy, will remain idle unless Connecticut implements an equitable cost-sharing mechanism that maximizes the benefits of grid upgrades for reflects all stakeholders, including utilities. and taxpayers.
“The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) is currently developing an equitable cost-sharing framework for the interconnection of renewable energy resources through Docket No. 22-06-29RE01,” Trahan added. “This process, which aims to establish an approach to fairly sharing the costs of upgrading the electric grid, requires not only regulatory reforms but just as importantly collaboration with regulators, utilities and developers of clean energy. Only through a proactive, transparent process can Connecticut create an interconnection policy that equitably facilitates renewable energy development while supporting Connecticut’s climate goals.”