Connecticut Green Bank and Quantum Biopower Holdings Inc. recently closed on a $2 million loan to build food-waste-to-energy plant in Southington. The facility will be the first of its kind in Connecticut.

The $12 million project will produce up to 1.1 megawatts of electricity when complete – enough to power up to 800 homes. The plant will also produce 10,000 tons of compost and soil amendment materials per year. Fuel for the facility will come from organic waste generated by restaurants and other large food waste producers.

Brian Paganini, vice president and managing director of Quantum Biopower, said his company is eager to break ground on the facility, which will be located at 49 DePaolo Drive in Southington.

“The development of the Southington digester project will fill a critical infrastructure gap in the state where large food waste generators will have the option to recycle their food waste material, ultimately lowering recycling costs while producing clean renewable energy and organic compost,” Paganini said in a statement.

“The Southington project has the potential to set an example for other communities interested in sustainable energy while helping to recycle food waste that otherwise would be incinerated or taken to landfills,” Bryan Garcia, president and CEO of Connecticut Green Bank, said in a statement.