Local and state lawmakers and some concerned neighbors have called for a temporary closure until the safety of residents is secured.
Patch Staff
EAST WINDSOR, CT — A high risk of brush fires, including one Tuesday afternoon at the NextEra solar project on East Road, has prompted state and local officials to call for its temporary closure until the safety of residents is secured.
A fire at the project site was reported at 2:06 p.m. Tuesday, following reports of sparking wires several days prior. More than a dozen fires have ignited in the first two weeks of March in the state, including several in nearby Somers.
First Selectman Jason Bowsza has been joined by the East Windsor delegation of lawmakers, including State Sen. Saud Anwar, State Rep. Jaime Foster and State Rep. Carol Hall, as well as members of the East Windsor community in calling for a temporary halt to the project.
The Connecticut Siting Council has legal jurisdiction over the location of power facilities, and approved the NextEra project in 2021.
In a written statement, Bowsza said this is another public nuisance caused by the project, which has previously gained negative attention in town due to incorrectly installed inverters causing a persistent humming sound that bothers nearby residents. He and Foster visited the site Tuesday and spoke with nearby property owners.
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"What we saw at the NextEra site [Tuesday] is just the most recent example of that company acting as an absentee landlord," Bowsza said. "They have dismissed concerns raised for years about noise emitting from the exact spot where the fire broke out, and they have refused to rectify the issue. They were called out over the weekend to address sparking wires, and they failed to fix that issue, as well. They need to be held accountable, and they need to do right by the people who live next to this project. NextEra owns it, and they are responsible for it."
Foster said, "This is the latest in a saga of problems with this generator. [Tuesday], we immediately worked towards action to ensure the state, the legislature, and our towns, have the authority to hold bad actors accountable. This legislation will put safeguards in place to prevent reckless re-powering of malfunctioning generation and distribution sites, prioritizing public safety and community well-being over corporate negligence."
"My husband and I were sitting in our living room when we heard an explosion, saw a wave of green light, and then a fire almost immediately followed," resident Amanda Wright said. "I called 911 and within minutes, 40 trees had burned down. Not only has this solar plant been a nuisance for us because of the incessant ringing [noise], but now we’re concerned about the safety of our family, home, and neighbors. The solar company has ignored our complaints for years about the noise, and now we fear they will ignore our safety."
Another neighbor, Dana Van Steenburgh., said, "It seems we have an absentee landlord that promised us that they were going to take care of all the conditions at this site and now they’ve reneged on those promises and said, ‘we don’t care, we’re doing nothing,'"
"The continued problems impacting the people of East Windsor from this NextEra project are untenable for nearby residents," Anwar said. "I'm hopeful that the serious issues negatively affecting people living in the neighborhood can be addressed without further issue, especially with fire posing a serious physical threat. I stand with the residents of East Windsor who have voiced their grievances about the complications this project caused."
Hall said, "I have been saying for quite some time that these solar utilities belong in industrial zoned areas. When incidents like the most recent one occur, they can pose a real danger to the families and individuals who live in their proximity, not to mention the incessant noise that area residents have had to deal with coming from this location. This is just another reason why these utilities should be placed as far away from residential neighborhoods as possible."
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