Solar farm one step closer to expanding in East Windsor
The developers of a solar farm in East Windsor are looking to expand, and they could be one step closer to doing so.
But neighbors there have been against the expansion from the start.
About a quarter of the state’s solar is in East Windsor. The Connecticut Siting Council, the agency that decides the locations of power facilities, indicated they would approve an expansion to Gravel Pit Solar, a 485-acre facility in the southeastern part of town, on Thursday.
Members of the siting council said their approval would come with conditions, which will be finalized at the March 5 final vote.
East Windsor’s First Selectman, Jason Bowsza, said he’s against the expansion.
We have done our part. East Windsor has more than 20% of the cited renewable energy in the state of Connecticut, and all of that has been done without the municipality having a role in and being able to determine our own future,” he said. “What the siting Council has done in their approval process is they have decided that it’s open season to continue to cite any and all of these projects in the town of East Windsor, and I’m going to fight that.”
The Gravel Pit Solar Expansion is a proposed 30-megawatt expansion to the Gravel Pit Solar energy project, a 120-megawatt project located in the southeastern part of town, according to the project’s website. The expansion would take up about 150 acres and would produce enough clean energy to power 4,500 homes, according to estimates from the Environmental Protection Agency.”
Neighbors like Chris Dahl said the once rural Windsorville neighborhood is now inundated with solar.
“People move here because they want the farmland,” she said. “They like the view. They like the serenity of it. And now it’s become an industrial landscape of solar fields.”
Those against the expansion aren’t just making noise. They’ve also become interveners, also known as a third party in a legal case. Dahl is part of the East Windsor Citizens for Responsible Solar, who plan to argue their interests to the siting council.
DESRI, the developers of Gravel Pit Solar, did not respond to a request for comment.
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