Shoreline Energy Advisors, LLC of Brielle, NJ, today announced construction has begun on the installation of a natural gas microgrid in Bridgeport.
The microgrid is part of a municipal pilot program funded partially by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP); natural gas microgrids are designed to provide continuous power to critical public facilities in the event of a major power failure.
The Bridgeport MicroGrid will provide an independent and local generating facility to supply and distribute power in island and parallel modes to City Hall, Police Headquarters and the Golden Hill Senior Center. The MicroGrid will power critical facilities which service almost 150,000 citizens of Bridgeport. In addition, the generators' waste heat will be utilized to provide heating and cooling to City Hall, Police Headquarters and heat to the neighboring Cabaret Theatre.
Shoreline Energy Advisors also gained regulatory approval to utilize another Connecticut pilot program "Virtual Net Metering" to defray capital costs by qualifying for a credit from United Illuminating (the local electric utility) for any excess electricity generated by the project for use at additional city facilities. This was the first time Virtual Net Metering was approved for use by a non-solar project in Connecticut. The project was also designed and structured to qualify for Renewable Energy Credits which will further defray its cost of production.
Shoreline Energy Advisors is a long-time advisor to Bridgeport's Energy Improvement District and worked as co-developer in the initial design, structuring, financing and negotiation of various contracts including power and thermal energy purchases, utility interconnection, operation and maintenance and fuel supply, from project inception through to financial closing.
"Shoreline Energy Advisors was formed to provide large scale energy users with expertise in the development of renewable and conventional power projects when the technical, economic and transactional skills required for larger scale development are not resident in their clients' organization. These skills are especially relevant in the development of distributed power generation and resiliency projects which utilize the increasingly popular public-private-partnership model" said Fred Fastiggi, Principal and Managing Director for Shoreline Energy Advisors. "This was an extremely complex project to develop having the seemingly opposing goals of competitively priced power for the city and, reasonable returns to investors. It is an excellent example of how public-private partnerships can be utilized to develop infrastructure at no cost to taxpayers while improving services and economy. The project will have a positive effect on the people who live in Bridgeport and those responsible for providing critical municipal resources to the city."
Power Island Energy, LLC of Jacksonville, Florida led a team which formed Bridgeport MicroGrid LLC to build, own, operate and maintain the project and to facilitate future advancements and improvements to the microgrid as the market evolves. Other Investors in the transaction include OR&L Construction of Branford, Connecticut along with representatives from Controlled Air, also of Branford.
Primary financing for the project was provided by First Niagara. Bridgeport MicroGrid, LLC also received $500,000 in sub debt from the Connecticut Green Bank. The City of Bridgeport working with Shoreline Energy Advisors secured a $2.975 million grant from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to support the project.
Construction is currently underway and the microgrid is expected to be operational by July, 2017.
About Shoreline Energy Advisors, LLC
Shoreline Energy Advisors, LLC is a consulting organization specializing in the development of distributed generation, cogeneration, renewable energy and energy storage projects.
About Bridgeport MicroGrid, LLC
Bridgeport MicroGrid, LLC is a special purpose entity created by Power Island Energy, LLC to handle the funding for the CCHP portion of the MicroGrid project.
Media Contacts
Fred Fastiggi
Shoreline Energy Advisors, LLC
[email protected]
(732) 528-1639
Steve Wilson
Bridgeport MicroGrid, LLC
[email protected]
(904) 285-7154