KILLINGLY — The Killingly power plant saga was significant this year, mainly for what didn’t happen.
In May, the Connecticut Siting Council, the agency that oversees permit approval for proposed power plants in the state, denied applications filed by the NTE firm to build a 550-megawatt, duel-fuel electric generating plant on Lake Road in the Dayville section of town.
But since the applications for a certificate of environmental compatibility and public need were rejected “without predjudice,” the company is free to resubmit its proposals — which it plans to do in January. The $500 million “Killingly Energy Center” project did qualify to participate in the upcoming ISO New England Forward Capacity Auction. If the company is selected, it is under obligation to begin providing power within three years.
In rejecting the company’s applications, Siting Council members determined the proposed facility was “not necessary for the reliability of electric power supply of the state ... at this time."
NTE officials disagreed with the council's findings and are convinced several older plants in the region are set to be retired and will open a window for more efficient generating facilities.
The project has faced stiff opposition from several residents in Killingly and the surrounding towns. Opponents, which include municipal and state lawmakers, complain of a lack of information on water and air pollution and said there was little evidence the plant’s proposed electric generation was needed, especially because an existing power plant — Lake Road Generating — is located near the planned facility site.
As the company prepared to move forward with its project, a set of contracts with the town continued to go unsigned this year.
After months of discussion and several revisions, the former Town Council was unable to reach a consensus on tax stabilization and a Community Environmental Benefit Agreement, or CEBA, with NTE.
The latest version of the tax agreement calls for paying the town $91 million in taxes over a 20-year period. The most recent CEBA draft would have NTE provide $5 million in “unrestricted” money to Killingly, which could be used for a variety of environmentally-oriented projects, including a scholarship fund, for water testing at Alexander’s Lake and to plant trees throughout town.
Current Town Council leaders hope to bring the two proposals to a vote in January.
Town Manager Sean Hendricks, who has served as the council's main liaison with NTE representatives, said both parties have advocated strongly for their postions.
"Projects like these, which do take a lot of time, are usually exercises in diplomacy, but in this case it’s been a matter of creativity with the goal of finding common ground," he said. "NTE hasn’t been adversarial and the council is doing what they think is best for the town."