What is proposed

What Is Actually Proposed

SMART Technology Systems, LLC has told the State of Connecticut it intends to build a 45-megawatt waste processing and conversion (gasification) facility in Plainfield. In a June 6, 2025 filing to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the company confirmed the 45-megawatt output and that the site lies in a designated environmental justice community.¹

This is the fully sourced explainer of the proposal. The load-bearing facts below are tied to state statutes, DEEP filings and Siting Council records; news reporting is used only to corroborate dates, quotes and the developer’s own stated figures. Where the developer’s numbers and the public record differ, both are shown.

Who is behind it

The Developer

The applicant of record is SMART Technology Systems, LLC. Its June 2025 public-participation filing to DEEP was submitted by attorney Lee D. Hoffman of Pullman & Comley, Hartford.¹
SMART is described in reporting as a partnership of O&G Industries and Advanced Waste Technologies International. The project is spoken for publicly by William (Bill) Corvo.¹¹¹²
The company filed a formal Public Response to DEEP’s Materials Management Infrastructure Request for Information, laying out its proposed approach in the state’s own record.²

The technology

How It Would Work

In its filing to DEEP, the company describes a system built on “gasification technology in place of burn technology,” not a conventional mass-burn incinerator. As reported, the equipment is Valmet gasification, arranged in three stages:²¹²

Stage one — sorting. Incoming waste is separated to recover materials and prepare a “refuse-derived fuel.” The company claims recycling of “99% of metals” and “98% of glass.”²
Stage two — gasification. The refuse-derived fuel is converted to a synthesis gas (“syngas”), which is then combusted to raise steam and drive a turbine for electricity.²¹²
Stage three — digestion. Organic material is routed to an anaerobic digester, producing biogas; the company also describes carbon-dioxide capture and conversion to “food grade” CO₂.²

Gasification is a distinct process from old-style incineration, but its combustion step is not exempt from incineration rules. Because the syngas is ultimately burned, in the United States and the European Union waste gasification and pyrolysis are regulated as waste incinerators.¹⁰ Connecticut’s own existing wood-gasification plant works the same way: state records describe a gasifier that produces syngas which “is combusted” to generate steam.⁹

Where and how big

The Site and the Numbers

The facility would be located in Plainfield, on Norwich Road near Black Hill Road, between Routes 12 and 14. DEEP’s record confirms the location and that SMART posted the required notice sign “visible from Norwich Road.”¹ Reporting puts the parcel at about 81 acres and describes the surrounding area as residential.¹¹¹³
The facility’s electrical output is 45 megawatts — the developer’s own figure, stated in its June 2025 filing with CT DEEP.¹
The developer’s stated throughput is more than 1,800 tons of solid waste per day, five days a week, which the company also expresses as up to 468,000 tons a year (about 9,000 tons a week). This is the developer’s own figure for the waste-processing project it has formally placed on the state regulatory record with CT DEEP.²¹²¹³

Stated size of the proposed facility and where each figure comes from
Measure	Figure	Source tier
Electrical output	45 megawatts	DEEP filing — official record¹
Throughput, per day	More than 1,800 tons, 5 days a week	Developer’s figure for its CT DEEP-filed project²¹²
Throughput, per year	Up to 468,000 tons	Developer’s figure for its CT DEEP-filed project²¹²
Parcel	About 81 acres, Norwich Rd near Rte 12/14	Reporting; location confirmed by DEEP¹¹¹

The regulatory thresholds

Why the Size Matters, in Law

Two of the numbers above are not just descriptive. Under Connecticut statute, they determine which agencies must review the plant and what those agencies must find before any permit can issue.

45 MW triggers Siting Council review. Under CGS § 16-50i, an electric generating facility is exempt from Connecticut Siting Council jurisdiction only if it uses cogeneration and has a capacity of 25 megawatts or less. At 45 megawatts, this facility exceeds that exemption and requires a Siting Council Certificate.³¹
A Certificate requires a finding of public need. Under CGS § 16-50p, the Council may not issue a Certificate without finding “a public need for the facility and the basis of the need,” and must weigh the probable environmental impact “alone and cumulatively with other existing facilities.”⁴
DEEP must find the plant is needed. Under CGS § 22a-208d, the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection may not permit a resources-recovery facility processing mixed municipal solid waste without a written determination that it “is necessary to meet the solid waste disposal needs of the state and will not result in substantial excess capacity.”⁶
Environmental-justice rules apply before any permit is filed. Because Plainfield is a designated environmental justice community under CGS § 22a-20a, SMART had to file a public-participation plan and hold a public meeting before applying for a permit — steps DEEP’s record confirms took place in spring 2025.⁷¹
Abutters and the town get a seat at the table. Under CGS § 16-50n, owners of property abutting the site and the host municipality are entitled to party or intervenor status in a Siting Council proceeding.⁵

Traffic

The Trucks

Because all of that waste would arrive by road, truck traffic is one of the most concrete effects on record.

In a joint statement, Plainfield’s Republican and Democratic town committees described “over 100 garbage trucks traveling daily between 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. through peaceful neighborhoods.”¹¹
At the May 7, 2025 public meeting logged by DEEP, several hundred residents attended and roughly fifty spoke; noise and traffic mitigation are among the items the company says it has discussed with the town.¹

Timeline

When It Would Happen

By the developer’s own account the plant would not go operational before 2028. Project manager Bill Corvo said, “We don’t anticipate going operational much before 2028.”¹²¹⁴
The developer estimated roughly “a year plus” to obtain permits, then “a couple of years to build it,” assuming no delays.¹⁴

Developer claim vs the record

What the Developer Promises

Developer claim

The figures in this section are the developer’s own promises and marketing statements — several drawn directly from SMART’s filing in the state record. They are presented here as claims, not as verified outcomes, alongside what statute and independent reporting establish.

Developer claim compared with the public record
Subject	What the developer says	What the record shows
Emissions	Gasification “in place of burn technology,” with “best-in-class emission performance.”²	In the U.S. and E.U., gasification and pyrolysis are regulated as waste incinerators, because the syngas is combusted.¹⁰⁹
Recycling	Recovery of “99% of metals” and “98% of glass.”²	A company performance target stated to DEEP; not independently verified or permitted.
Carbon dioxide	Carbon-capture technology converting CO₂ to “food grade” product; a capacity factor “>90%.”²	A description of intended process; actual performance would be a matter for the permit review.
Need / Class I status	The project “should qualify” as a Class I renewable energy source and is “necessary” capacity.²	Whether public need exists is a finding DEEP and the Siting Council must make by statute, not the applicant.⁶⁴
Tax & jobs	“Several million dollars per year in new tax revenue” and “a minimum of 160 long-term jobs.”¹¹	Developer projections; no independent fiscal analysis is on the public record.

The bigger picture

Plainfield Already Has a Gasification Plant

The SMART proposal would not be the town’s first plant of this general kind. The cumulative context is a matter of federal record.

According to a U.S. EPA discharge permit, Plainfield Renewable Energy, LLC is a 37.5-megawatt wood-gasification biomass power plant already operating at 12 Mill Brook Road, at the intersection of Mill Brook Road and Norwich Road — the same road named in the SMART filing.⁹
That plant runs a fluidized-bed gasifier that produces syngas which is combusted to make steam, and it discharges up to 173,571 gallons per day of cooling-water blowdown to the Quinebaug River.⁹
The existing plant burns clean wood. The SMART proposal would add a second, larger gasification facility — this one processing mixed municipal trash — to the same town.⁹¹²

One town. One gasification plant already running on wood. A second, far larger one proposed for mixed household trash.

Where it stands

Current Status, in Brief

The plant is a live proposal. As of mid-2026 it remains under active review by state agencies; no final permit decision has been issued.⁸¹⁴

Filed / underway

DEEP air permit application¹⁴
DEEP solid waste management plan¹⁴
Environmental justice public-participation report on file with DEEP¹

Not yet filed

No application before the Connecticut Siting Council⁸
No DEEP public comment window has opened yet¹⁴
Town building, stormwater and wastewater permits¹⁴

In a June 2025 non-binding referendum, Plainfield voted 1,148 to 125 against the plant, on about 12% turnout. That vote does not bind the state, which holds permitting authority under the statutes above.¹¹ For the full, dated status board, see Where It Stands.

Questions and answers

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Plainfield trash plant?

A proposed 45-megawatt waste gasification (waste-to-energy) facility that SMART Technology Systems, LLC wants to build in Plainfield, Connecticut, to process municipal solid waste. The 45-megawatt figure is stated in the company’s June 2025 filing to CT DEEP.¹

How big is it, and how much trash would it handle?

Its stated electrical output is 45 megawatts. As reported, the developer’s figures are more than 1,800 tons of solid waste per day, five days a week, or up to 468,000 tons a year.¹¹²

Is gasification the same as incineration?

It is a distinct process, but because the synthesis gas it produces is combusted, waste gasification and pyrolysis are regulated as waste incinerators in both the United States and the European Union.¹⁰

Does it need approval from more than one agency?

Yes. At 45 megawatts it exceeds the 25-megawatt cogeneration exemption, so it needs a Connecticut Siting Council Certificate under CGS § 16-50i, in addition to DEEP permits. DEEP must also make a written determination that the facility is needed under CGS § 22a-208d.³⁶

When would it open?

Not before 2028, by the developer’s own timeline.¹²

Does Plainfield already have a plant like this?

Yes. Federal records describe Plainfield Renewable Energy as a 37.5-megawatt wood-gasification biomass plant already operating in town, on Norwich Road. The SMART proposal would be a second, larger gasification plant, this one taking in mixed household trash.⁹