Sporting Goods Properties Inc. has been cleaning up the former site of Remington Arms. This story has been corrected to reflect that fact.
BRIDGEPORT – As the nearly $1 billion Lake Success Energy Park solar project moves along at the former site of the Remington Arms factory on Barnum Avenue, the owner of the park has been destroying munitions and explosives left behind at the gunmaker’s munitions testing site.
Earlier this month, Mayor Joe Ganim and the Bridgeport Emergency Operations Center announced that Sporting Goods Properties Inc. obtained a federal Environmental Protection Agency permit to set off the live ammunition from July 6-July 31. That action was necessary to clear the property for the construction of the energy park, according to a statement from Ganim.
The Bridgeport Fire, Police and Health departments were made aware of the plans and encouraged residents living near Lake Success Business Park to remain calm during periods of loud noises in the area.
The Lake Success Energy Park will include a 4 MW solar project that is the latest Connecticut renewable energy solicitation to be selected by United Illuminating through a competitive Non-residential Renewable Energy Solutions program. The program supports the development of commercial-scale renewable energy projects that provide clean, renewable power to the electric power grid.
“The large solar array will be built on brownfield land that has limited alternative uses, creating an opportunity to generate clean, renewable energy while helping support public access and stewardship of the surrounding property,” said Paul Michaud, founder of the Middletown-based Michaud Law Group LLC, which represents the solar component of Lake Success Energy Park.
In addition to Michaud Law Group, the project is supported by TRIAD Advanced Energy Development LLC, a state-based energy developer; TRITEC Renewable Development LLC, a subsidiary of TRITEC Americas LLC, part of a global renewable energy services company based in Switzerland.
The solar array will be located on 51 acres of the 420-acre former Remington Arms site, where ammunition was once manufactured and tested. The solar project will transform industrial land into the energy park while generating revenue via energy production to support the adjacent 368-acre public nature preserve. The Lake Success Energy Park also envisions up to two 250 MW battery energy storage systems at the site.
The next steps for the energy park are permitting and regulatory reviews by the Connecticut Siting Council, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, UI and the City of Bridgeport. The project is expected to be complete in 2027 in time to benefit from the expiring federal solar investment tax credits.
