Connecticut lawmaker suggests big power users go off grid
Connecticut Post, Bridgeport --Sep. 17
Sep. 17--As technical problems and mounting costs hamper plans to upgrade power lines in southwestern Connecticut, state Rep. Lawrence Miller, R-Stratford, has a solution: Have large commercial energy users secede from the electrical grid.
"If Connecticut companies that are heavy electricity consumers could be
convinced to use onsite generators rather than relying on electric utilities for
their power, construction of the Middletown to Norwalk transmission line could
be postponed indefinitely," he said.
Miller did not offer details on how, or how much it would cost, to accomplish
the plan and he was unavailable for comment Thursday.
Utility companies and regulators say the region's current power grid is old
and cannot carry enough electricity to meet demand on peak-consumption days.
The price tag for upgrading the lines has swelled to $1.2 billion, largely
due to communities' demands that the companies run at least 24 miles of the
cables underground. Running that length of power line underground also presents
some technical challenges, including concerns over voltage stability, that the
companies are still studying.
Another impediment to the project is how big to make buffer zones around the
portions of the line that run above ground. One proposal would require the
creation of 600-foot buffer zones, which UI said would probably mean that an
unprecedented number of homes would have to be condemned and taken. UI, however,
thinks this is unlikely and that site-specific mitigation will allow the project
to go forward without affecting homes.
Given these problems, Miller said in a statement that the state should pursue
other options, including using alternative on-site distributive generation, or
DG.
DG systems are designed to power individual buildings or blocks independent
of the grid. The systems can include the use of small natural gas-powered
generators, fuel cells, solar and wind generators.
The state Department of Transportation is currently using solar energy at its
Hartford maintenance facility. Select Energy Services, a subsidiary of CL&P,
installed 3,746 square feet of solar panels that deliver enough electricity
during the day to power 25 homes, according to Select Energy. But the
maintenance facility remains tied into the power grid.
The technology is viable and General Electric Co. is selling these systems
today, according to Cheryl Cargill, a communications manager for GE Energy. But
using DG systems to solve the energy crisis in Connecticut would require an
exhaustive study, she said.
Marcia Wellman, a UI spokeswoman, said the idea isn't practical because
hundreds of DG systems would have to be installed all over Fairfield County to
meet demand the new lines would fill.
"Distributive generation is part of the solution, but it is not a
substitute for transmission infrastructure," she said.
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