[B]ENNINGTON — Bennington officials and residents are getting an initial look at three proposed solar facilities after the state Public Utility Commission approved contracts for sale of the power they generate.
The commission on July 20 approved power sale contracts under the state’s Standard Offer Program for three proposed commercial solar projects in Bennington and one in Rutland Town.
The two developers eyeing Bennington sites have yet to apply for certificate of public good permits required to construct the facilities, but the proposals submitted to the state for the Standard Offer process identifies the sites involved and the proposed size of the facilities.
Two facilities are proposed by Allco Renewable Energy on property in the vicinity of Rice Lane, Route 7A and a Vermont Railway right of way. Each array is proposed with 2.2 megawatts of generating capacity.
A third facility receiving a contract was proposed by MHG Solar for a site off Shields Drive. It would have 1.7 megawatts of generating capacity.
MHG Solar also submitted a proposal for a 1.7 megawatt facility off Gore Road but withdrew that bid. The firm could resubmit that plan again in the next round of bidding in the spring.
Under the state’s Standard Offer program, energy facility developers are not required to notify the community before learning whether they can secure a contract to supply power at their bid price. Contracts are awarded each year until a state-designated ceiling of generating capacity from alternative energy sources is reached, which now is the case for 2018.
First view of sites
Assistant Town Manager and Planning Director Daniel Monks said Wednesday that town officials hadn’t previously seen maps of the proposed sites.
He said he believes the MHG Solar site is within a preferred area for solar facilities under the town’s energy plan, while the two Allco Renewable sites are not within a preferred location for commercial solar projects.
MHG also is proposing two smaller, 500-kilowatt net-metering solar facilities — one near the larger proposed array off Shields Drive and a second off Gore Road, also within the preferred area according to the energy plan.
The Allco Renewable sites are on land that has been considered by the developer for up to three solar arrays — formerly called Battle Creek sites 1, 2 and 3.
The first Battle Creek site, near Home Depot and Carbone Auto Group, has received both a Standard Offer contract and a certificate of public good from the PUC, but that project hasn’t entered the construction stage because Allco is challenging in court a 50-foot setback required by the state Agency of Transportation from the Vermont Railway right of way, which is larger than the 10-foot setback the town requires.
The PUC has granted an extension for completing that project under the Standard Offer contract.
The other two original Battle Creek sites have been renamed the Warner Solar and Stark Solar sites, apparently in reference to the leaders of the Colonial forces during the Battle of Bennington.
Stark Solar map: 20890988155296onbase-unity_808828737267119489129020
Warner Solar map: 20683772022418onbase-unity_808936338444586922391400
Ironically, opposition to the solar proposals in the Harwood Hill/Route 7A area has in part focused on potential visual impacts to the view from the Bennington Battle Monument, as well as from the nearby Mount Anthony Golf Course.
Similar criticism has been voiced about two other Allco Renewable projects in Bennington, Chelsea Solar and Apple Hill Solar, both located to the east of Route 7 in the Apple Hill area.
Those adjacent 2-megawatt projects have been vigorously opposed throughout the permitting process by neighbors and other residents, and the town has joined in opposition during several stages of the process.
The Chelsea and Apple Hill sites also are not within the preferred areas of town for solar projects under the energy plan, which was approved earlier in the spring.
In approving the final Standard Offer contracts for 2018 on July 20, the PUC also approved a contract for a 2.2 megawatt Allco Renewable project in Rutland Town. That project has a certificate of need permit as well.
Neither MHG nor Allco Renewable officials could be reached this week for comment.
