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4 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | AUGUST 24, 2026 What's Trending A rendering of the 45-megawatt trash-to-energy plant SMART Technology Systems LLC has proposed on O&G Industries' sand and gravel property in Plainfield. Rendering | Contributed O&G-backed developer advances Plainfield waste-to-energy plant before state regulators Planning and Zoning Commission denied the request. SMART says the current proposal is smaller as a result. A May 2025 public meeting at Plainfield Town Hall drew several hundred people and lasted about four hours, with roughly 50 residents speaking and many voicing oppo- sition to the project, according to SMART's petition. The project also requires several permits from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protec- tion, including air and solid waste permits. Those permit reviews remain pending, and the town has formally intervened in the proceedings. Connecticut law allows the Siting Council to use the streamlined declar- atory ruling review process for certain electric generating facilities under 65 megawatts that meet applicable environmental standards. SMART argues its project qualifies. The company says the privately owned facility could reduce Plain- field's mill rate by up to 25%, create about 700 jobs at the peak of construction and preserve roughly 115 acres as conservation land. If the project receives the neces- sary approvals, construction would begin in July 2027 and take about three years, with commercial operations expected to begin in early 2031. By Andrew Larson alarson@hartfordbusiness.com A company backed by one of Connecticut's largest construction firms is asking state regulators to clear the way for a 45-megawatt waste-to-energy plant in Plainfield, a project that has faced more than a year of local opposition. SMART Technology Systems LLC filed a petition with the Connecticut Siting Council earlier this month seeking a "declaratory ruling," which would allow the project to undergo a narrower regulatory review rather than the more extensive process required for a certificate of environ- mental compatibility and public need. The Siting Council must determine whether the project qualifies for that streamlined review. SMART's owners include Torrington-based O&G Industries and Advanced Waste Technologies Inter- national, a Connecticut renewable energy developer. The facility would occupy about 81 acres of O&G's 506-acre sand and gravel operation in Plainfield between Norwich and Black Hill roads. The proposal comes as Connecticut faces a shortage of in-state disposal capacity. The problem became more acute after the Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority closed its Hartford waste- to-energy plant in 2022. Much of the state's trash is now hauled to out-of-state landfills, while the four remaining waste-to-energy plants in Connecticut operate near capacity, according to state officials. SMART says the Plainfield plant would accept an average of 1,800 tons of municipal solid waste a day, roughly replacing the capacity lost when MIRA closed. According to the petition, the facility would recover recyclable materials, convert organic waste into renewable natural gas and use the remaining waste to generate electricity for the regional power grid through a gasification process that SMART says does not require incineration. In 2024, O&G sought to rezone the property as an environmental-indus- trial park that would have included the waste facility, but Plainfield's