ELLINGTON, CT — A nearly 5-megawatt solar farm proposed for an orchard along the Ellington-Stafford town line has received final approval from the Connecticut Siting Council.
The council issued a declaratory ruling for the Schoolhouse Road project after determining that it would not have a substantial adverse environmental effect. The decision, reached Sept. 17 and issued the following day, includes 22 conditions that must be met during construction and operation.
Greenskies Clean Energy plans to build the 4.99-megawatt facility on approximately 21.6 acres of a 74.6-acre peach and apple orchard. The site is on Schoolhouse Road near the Stafford border and is zoned Rural Agricultural Residential.
The estimated $11 million project would include 11,076 solar panels mounted on a tracking system that follows the sun. At their highest angle, the panels would stand about 9 feet above the ground.
The facility would be surrounded by a 7-foot fence and connected to the Eversource system through a combination of underground wiring and four new utility poles. Approximately 1 to 2 miles of an existing electrical feeder would also be upgraded from single-phase to three-phase service.
Electricity, capacity and renewable-energy credits generated at the site would be sold to Eversource through a 20-year Shared Clean Energy Facility agreement. The project has a contractual in-service date of Oct. 30, 2027.
The Siting Council's approval requires Greenskies to obtain a state stormwater permit and submit final site, structural and emergency-response plans before beginning construction or operating the facility.
The company must also provide emergency-response training to Ellington firefighters. Before the solar farm begins operating, the town fire marshal must certify that the training has been completed and the emergency plan has been approved.
Other conditions call for protections within the Shenipsit Lake watershed, measures intended to protect American kestrels and the reinstallation of a kestrel nesting box after construction. Greenskies must also conduct a noise study once the facility is operating and take corrective action if the project exceeds state standards.
A bond will be required to cover the cost of dismantling the facility at the end of its useful life.
Ellington officials previously raised questions about buffers, noise from transformers and inverters, and the loss of land used for agriculture. The town's Conservation Commission also questioned how the project would affect farmland soils of statewide importance.
Greenskies later submitted a revised farmland map. The state Department of Agriculture said the property does not contain prime farmland and therefore did not fall under the department's authority for a formal determination.
The nearest occupied residential property line is about 228 feet east of the proposed facility, while the nearest home is approximately 445 feet west of the fence. State reviewers said portions of the project may be visible from Schoolhouse Road, although existing vegetation is expected to block most views from surrounding areas.
The company has three years from the date of the decision to complete construction. Unless the council grants an extension, the approval will become void if the facility is not built by then.
For more Northern Connecticut news, follow Patch editor Jay Kenney.
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