At its Tuesday July 5 meeting, the Planning Board is scheduled to review Novel Energy’s proposed 65,866 s.f. solar farm off Lewiston Road near the Auburn line. The parcel is located in the Residential C zoning district (Map 10 Lot 48-C).
According to its application, Novel Solar’s proposes a 975 kw community solar garden with 2,742 panels. Subscribers to community solar gardens receive credits on their utility bills for power sent to the local grid. A 6-foot-high chain link fence topped by three-strand barbed wire will surround the array and concrete equipment pad. A 5-inch gap at the bottom of the fence is intended to allow wildlife passage. Novel Solar estimates the life of the project to be 30 years and has provided a decommissioning plan in its application.
Town Planner Natalie Thomsen’s memo to the board identifies several open items, including the entrance from Route 100, the siting and design of the access road to the parcel, and access for fire safety equipment. The parcel is half wetland and half farmland near the Royal River and, according to Thomsen’s memo, abutters have expressed concerns about the wetlands, runoff into the river, and deer wintering grounds on the site.
Novel Solar’s project is the first large ground-mounted array to undergo review under the town’s recently adopted solar energy ordinance. Given the scale and novelty of the project, the board is likely to hold a public hearing as part of its review. The board may also schedule a site walk.
The meeting packet with Novel Solar’s application, Planner Thomsen’s memo, and associated project documents can be accessed from the Planning Board page on the town website at this link. Find the application and supporting materials by opening the folder labeled “Solar Application Materials” at this link.
At its July 5 meeting, the board will also consider a corrective amendment to an existing subdivision plan at Highview Drive, off Bennett Road (Map 2 Lot 45),
— Joanne Cole
