SOUTH WINDSOR — Residents and neighbors stand on both sides of a proposed solar facility for farmland on the town border that currently awaits a decision from local zoning officials.
C-TEC Solar hopes to build a roughly 1.31-megawatt solar photovoltaic system on 6.35 acres of a 17.38-acre lot at 379 Scantic Road currently home to Draghi Farms. Though 1.3 acres of the lot lies over the East Windsor line, the proposed development lies entirely within South Windsor, thus giving South Windsor jurisdiction over the project.
In August 2024, C-TEC withdrew a petition to the Connecticut Siting Council for a proposed 1.66-megawatt solar array at 186 Foster St., a 16.5-acre farmland property located near the Manchester border.
The town's Inland Wetlands Agency/Conservation Commission unanimously approved the plan at its Dec. 4 meeting with a set of standard terms and conditions. The Planning and Zoning Commission previously scheduled a public hearing for its Jan. 14 meeting, where officials discussed litigation over a rejected warehouse project in executive session, but the hearing was postponed to Jan. 28.
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In another unanimous vote, the PZC decided Jan. 28 to continue the public hearing to Feb. 11. Some members cited a desire for more information and asked questions to the developer in an effort to get answers at their next meeting.
Jin Tao, senior environmental engineer with Burns & McDonnell, presented the application to the PZC and fielded questions from its members.
Tao said the proposed 1,985-module array would generate 1.31 megawatts of DC power that would be converted on-site into just under one megawatt of AC power, thus leaving the project under the jurisdiction of South Windsor zoning officials rather than the Siting Council. He said the modules would be mounted on a single-axis tracker system, rotating throughout the day as the sun rises and sets, and that site improvements to be conducted during the construction would reduce the flooding impact to Scantic Road during storm events.
At the meeting Jan. 28, one member of the public spoke in favor of the plan and others had filed letters both approving and disapproving of the plan.
Speaking favorably of the solar facility, former Mayor Andrew Paterna said the project would help the Draghi family generate income at a time when many farmers are struggling to make ends meet while allowing for some of the property to remain actively farmable. Alternatively, the family could sell the property, Paterna said.
"That's a good spot for apartments or homes and I know this commission has had concerns about the school-aged population in town," Paterna said.
South Windsor resident Justin Mattern filed a letter that was read into the record during the PZC meeting, stating the loud "NIMBY (not in my backyard)" crowd is a vocal minority when it comes to opposition to solar facilities like C-TEC's proposal.
"I and others certainly support green energy, in my backyard, on my roof, anywhere we can," Mattern said. "We just support it quietly."
Members of the PZC read four letters into the record expressing opposition to the project, from authors largely concerned about the impact to their nearby homes.
Chris Dahl, a resident of the Broad Brook section of East Windsor, wrote a letter stating his "strong opposition" to the plan, noting the "dramatic and negative impact" that some East Windsor solar projects have had on their neighbors.
"While I fully support the transition to renewable energy resources, I feel the placement of such a large-scale project is inappropriate and will drastically alter the character of this neighborhood," Dahl said, adding that careful consideration must be taken with regards to noise.
Scantic Road neighbor Jennifer Krucher stated in a letter that she also strongly opposed the application, calling it a clear industrial use that is incompatible with the underlying "rural residential" zoning of the South Windsor property. Krucher also argued the presence of such a facility could negatively impact the value of nearby homes and the farmland could be lost after the equipment is decommissioned.
Officials also discussed aspects of the plan and questions for future meetings, with little in the way of hard stances on the project.
PZC member Robert Vetere asked Tao about the ability of the developer to later return the project site to farmland. Tao replied that the flat conditions mean that development of the proposed solar facility should not require any significant changes to the landscape, and all prime farmland soil will be left in place and reseated after construction to ensure its future viability.
PZC member Stephanie Dexter said she understands that the farming community needs to find a way to generate more revenue, and that she is "not totally against" the project as presented, but that she and her fellow commission members all have more questions that need answers before she could decide.
PZC Chairman Stephen Wagner said he appreciated that the noise report supplied with the application went into the issue of tracking and mitigating "discrete tones," the singular frequencies of sound that can come from some industrial developments and have a significant "psychological impact" on those living nearby. He added he would like the PZC to review the town's noise regulations for all developments, which are only concerned with decibel levels, and visit the often-maligned East Windsor Solar One and observe the sounds found there.