Manresa Island

Manresa Island in Norwalk, CT is home to a decommissioned coal and oil plant and and contains an abundance of biodiversity. The island is composed of two parcels, North and South, with 92 acres of filled wetlands, and 46 acres for the power plant and other structures. NRG Energy purchased Manresa Island from Connecticut Light & Power in 1999, and has been overseen by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) ever since the plant was decommissioned in 2013. The vacant land is now under consideration as the site of a future solar array.

​

Other Connecticut cities have seen the need to invest in the state’s future in a similar manner. A former dump-site in Seaside Park, Bridgeport, is now an 11 acre solar farm, among the largest solar installations in Connecticut, providing clean and affordable energy for over 300 homes. The Seaside project took an unfortunately situated waste site and transformed it into a beautiful and productive area for the people of Bridgeport. 

 

Many decisions have yet to be made on the future of Manresa Island. If 12 of the 46 shorefront acres on Manresa Island are used for a solar array, it would produce 2.5 megawatts, which could power 400 homes.