Westport Conservation Committee approves CVE solar project

Residents feel fear, frustration, hostility for solar 'farm' during planning board meeting

By Kristen Ray, Photos by Richard W Dionne Jr
Posted 7/18/18

Westport residents voicing their opinions against CVE's solar project could be fighting an uphill battle as the conservation committee approved the project with just a 50 foot crossing on Monday …

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Westport Conservation Committee approves CVE solar project

Residents feel fear, frustration, hostility for solar 'farm' during planning board meeting

Posted

Westport residents voicing their opinions against CVE's solar project could be fighting an uphill battle as the conservation committee approved the project with just a 50-foot animal path crossing on Tuesday night according to CVE engineer Matthew Gabor.

"Of course we still need planning board approval, but this decision officially nullifies any concerns from the townspeople about storm water and wetland issues," Gabor said in an email.

Residents vehemently verbalized their opinions against the project during a planning board meeting on Tuesday July, 10.

“I urge this esteemed Board to table this permit request and to adopt policies that provide residents with the surety that the quality of our lives, our wildlife, our natural biome and historic character of Westport are preserved for future generations,” said Westport resident Sky Wild as she spoke through tears.

On the surface, the plan should appear perfect. An international renewable energy company chooses Westport as its next destination for a community solar project. The company will then give back the clean energy generated to the Town--potentially serving over 400 homes--all at a discounted price.

CVE North America, Inc’s proposed to cut down 18.1 acres of land in the residential community off of Drift Road in order to build a 3.1 megawatt solar energy system at the planning board meeting. The land is part of a wooded parcel owned by David Cabral on the eastern side of Drift Rd.

While Matthew Gabor, the solar design engineer working on the project, and Meredith Savage, a senior wetland scientist at SWCA Environmental Consultants, did their best to quell the concerns brought to their attention throughout the evening, an unwavering distrust from both residents and boards members toward the company’s intentions plagued the meeting.

“As you can see, Westport is keen on keeping its distance…it’s important we need to know all of the facts to alleviate these fears,” said Chairman James Whitin.

Fear—along with frustration, hostility and uncertainty—rattled the nearly two dozen community members who spoke out against the project and defended their ideals to Gabor and Savage, citing the town’s mission in the 2016 Master Plan “to preserve, protect, restore and enhance Westport’s natural resources” as the basis for their numerous reservations.

Cindy Schiller, owner of abutting property that hosts a spring frequented by local wildlife, shared her worries for the future of land that’s been in her family for sixty years.

“It’s a pristine, precious piece of property. I’d hate to see runoff destroy this very unique natural resource,” she said.

This spring, along with other nearby wetlands, potential vernal pools and streams—including Pierce’s Brook—would not be impacted, according to CVE.

“There is no increase in runoff; it’s not allowed, or we could not get the project approved,” Savage said.

Despite Savage’s reiterations that the current proposal meets the stormwater management standards set by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, the absence of the engineers who conducted the analysis failed to drive the notion home for those in attendance.

Additionally, a violation of the Town’s rule for a 100 ft setback from all wetland areas along the property boundary didn’t help to ease skepticism. While the Board does have the power to waive that requirement, Whitin expressed no interest in doing so willingly.

“Why violate a 100 ft setback? You’re going to have to convince us of a good reason for doing that,” he warned.

While the potential for flooding raised enough of an alarm, the water sources’ additional draw for animals passing through the forest instigated further backlash over CVE’s design plans.

Both community members and board members took issue with the space allotted for small animal passage, citing the six-foot clearance in the solar array’s surrounding fence to be inadequate. With Rt. 88 and Drift Road on either side of the proposed site, the forced diversion of deer and other large animals en route to bodies of water--like the spring on Schiller’s property--could create dangerous travel conditions.

Receptive to these worries, Gabor said that CVE would be open to splitting the solar energy system design in two in order to create a central, 100 ft wide path running north to south for animal passage during the planning board meeting. Although he cautioned that doing so would reduce overall productivity of the site.

Gabor said that CVE would be open to altering their design. Although not legally obligated to make these changes and that doing so will ultimately reduce productivity of the site, the company has since added a central, 100 ft wide path running north to south for animal crossing.

“CVE stands behind working with the community and listening to concerns,” said Gabor.

In addition to working with the Town on a more robust animal passage plan, Gabor also agreed to further study the glare analysis of the solar panels to ensure that there would be no visibility from all necessary vantage points—including Rt. 88 and the river—during any point of the year.

Even with these concessions, cutting down the trees at all was distressing enough for many residents. A quote taken from the company’s website about acquiring “ready-to-build projects” continuously caused a stir throughout the meeting; while Gabor stated that the phrase more so refers to paperwork as opposed to actual site conditions, community members used it to fight the potential deforestation in their backyards.

“We are not against solar developments, we actually favor them…but they need to be built in the appropriate locations,” said Penny Hadfield, spear-header of Drift Road’s neighborhood oppositional committee.

While Whitin also admitted that everyone has been taken by surprise with how many solar energy systems are being set up on wooded properties, he cautioned that the Planning Board must analyze the project in front of them.

“We have to decide based on this bylaw, not on a future one,” he said.

Which could mean that, despite the general negative reaction from the community, CVE will be able to continue on with their plans for their fourth solar energy system project in Massachusetts this year. While Westport scrambles to change their existing rules and regulations to better reflect their ideals, CVE plans to obtain as much information as possible to prove they’re adhering to the current bylaws and that their intentions are not as villainous as have been perceived.

“We don’t want to come into your community and make it worse,” assured Gabor.

Convincing long-time residents of this, however, will prove to be a challenge.

Discussions about this project are slated to continue at an upcoming Planning Board Meeting on September 18.

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