“We’re happy to see local jobs being created right here to create green energy. This project will be powering 5,000 homes with clean energy. That’s 5,000 homes that aren’t going to be polluting the atmosphere.” - Mayor Bill Finch
Bridgeport, Conn. (July 16, 2015) – Today, Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch and visiting Mayor Dan Rivera (Lawrence, Mass.) toured Bridgeport’s Green Energy Park at the former landfill site near Seaside Park. The Green Energy Park is a clean energy project currently under construction, consisting of putting 9,000 solar panels and a fuel cell atop an old and unused landfill.
“We’re happy to see local jobs being created right here to create green energy,” said Mayor Bill Finch. “This project will be powering 5,000 homes with clean energy. That’s 5,000 homes that aren’t going to be polluting the atmosphere.”
The city of Bridgeport is working with United Illuminating Co. to install the solar panels and the 2.8 megawatt fuel cell. Once finished the project will produce enough clean energy to power an additional 5,000 homes while creating up to 92 jobs.
“The benefits are fantastic,” said Curt Spalding, Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency’s New England Region. “We lower our carbon footprint and we create jobs. What’s really exciting is this opportunity in Bridgeport. A signature project for New England and certainly for Connecticut.”
“To be alongside such a great mayor and so much of his time is an honor for me,” said Mayor Dan Rivera. “I’m learning. I’m a rookie mayor. A year and seven months in. It’s always good to see colleagues that are doing stuff that you can take home to your city.”
Lawrence, Mass. is the home of Solectria Renewables, which is a clean energy company that has grown from four employees to almost 200 over the last four years. It’s now one of the largest photovoltaic inverter manufacturers in North America.
And, Massachusetts has been a leader in putting solar on old and unused landfills across the state in order to produce more clean energy so kids breather cleaner air.
Mayor Finch and Mayor Rivera met with officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency before the tour of the Green Energy Park to discuss opportunities and best practices for bringing green energy and green jobs to their cities.
The two mayors are both active in the U.S. Conference of Mayors organization, which is where Mayor Finch serves as co-chair of the Climate Protection Task Force.
Earlier this year, Mayor Finch received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Climate Leadership Award for his efforts to promote green jobs and clean energy in the state’s largest city.
For more information on the Green Energy Park project: