Opinion

On December 10, 2002, Kleen Energy Systems, LLC (Kleen Energy) submitted to the Connecticut Siting Council (Council) a Petition for Reconsideration (petition) requesting the Council reconsider and modify Decision and Order 1(h), Finding of Fact No. 6, and Finding of Fact No. 41, as issued by the Council in Docket No. 225 on November 21, 2002. The Council held a hearing on this petition on January 28, 2003.

Decision and Order 1(h) stated that "No ground breaking on the project site may take place until financing for the project has been identified and committed through the completion of the project." In its petition, Kleen Energy argued that the Decision and Order as written would increase project costs, delay project construction until full financing is committed and preclude the use of bridge financing. Kleen Energy believes it would be placed at a disadvantage in negotiating with financiers and that this in turn would eventually result in higher costs for the electricity generated by Kleen Energy. Kleen Energy proposes to develop and finance the project in phases, i.e., with a civil work phase, a detailed engineering procurement phase, and a final engineering phase. A performance bond would be established through the City of Middletown Planning Conservation and Development Office for construction of this project. The bond would be submitted prior to the start of construction activities and would include the installation and maintenance of erosion and sediment control measures. The Council is concerned however, that if the project were only partially constructed and then terminated, nothing is in place to ensure restoration of the project site. Therefore, the Council will order that the performance bond shall also include a provision for site restoration to the satisfaction of the Council. The Council shall be the named beneficiary of the bond, with the power to invoke the bond upon nonperformance of its conditions.

Finding of Fact No. 6 contained an error regarding the height of the exhaust stacks above mean sea level, and this height is now corrected to 555 feet. For Finding of Fact No. 41, Kleen Energy requested the word "sedimentation" be substituted for the word " stormwater " as more representative of the actual condition of the Middletown Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission approval regarding sedimentation structures and drainage systems. The Council concurs in both of these modifications and will so order in its accompanying Decision and Order.