Bianca Sanchez, bianca.sanchez@sierraclub.org
HARTFORD, CT. -- Sierra Club, alongside 238 Connecticut residents, has submitted public comment to the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) calling on the State to replace the aging Capitol Area System with a 100 percent clean, renewable energy alternative. Other local environmental and climate justice groups have similarly weighed in on the fossil fuel plant’s future.
The State of Connecticut purchased the 35-year-old plant in September 2022. In the decades it operated as an electric generating facility, the Capitol Area System Central Plant released harmful air pollutants into Hartford, contributing to the city’s “asthma capital” and environmental justice community designations. A renewable energy replacement at the facility presents an opportunity for a just, climate-friendly upgrade and cleaner air for Hartford.
The public comment period on the plant’s future closed on Friday, July 7. At a public meeting hosted by DAS on June 28, supportive community members urged the state to pursue a renewable upgrade.
Currently, the Capitol Area System provides hot, cold, chilled, and steamed water for heating and cooling to 15 state-owned and private buildings in Hartford including the Legislative Office Building, the Office of Policy and Management, the CT Supreme Court, State Library, Appellate Court, Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, the State Office Building, the Bushnell and more. The Central Plant no longer produces electricity for the grid.
Following the public comment period, Sierra Club Connecticut Chapter Director Samantha Dynowski issued the following statement:
"The Capitol Area System has a decades-long history of polluting the Hartford community and harming the climate. However, it has a real chance at a clean future if Governor Lamont’s administration commits to a 100% clean and renewable, non-fossil fuel replacement. Sierra Club, alongside hundreds of Connecticut residents, want environmental justice, clean air, and climate protection for all. We call on the State of Connecticut to lead by example with the Capitol Area System.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.