Government

Planning Board concludes review, approves solar project

Attorney Michael Skolnick addresses the board as Novel’s Ralph Kaehler takes notes

| Joanne Cole |

After months of review, and several revisions along the way, Novel Energy Solutions’ application for a 65,000 s.f. solar array was approved by the Planning Board on Tuesday, following a second public hearing. The community solar farm, occupying about 11 acres of a 60-acre site off Lewiston Road and generating the equivalent of power for 200 to 250 homes, is the town’s first under the solar energy ordinance adopted in 2020.

The board’s approval may not end challenges to the project, however. Resident Stephen Daddio, whose property directly abuts the site, told NGX that he intends to appeal.

Daddio’s attorney Michael Skolnick spoke at the November 15 public hearing, arguing that Novel has not met several provisions of the town’s solar ordinance. Among the concerns he raised were access for emergency vehicles, the water supply for fire suppression, the visual impact assessment for the project, and screening/buffers.

Once the public hearing closed and the board began its discussion, the passage of the ordinance was top of mind for member Don Libby. “The voters voted in solar,” Libby said, signaling an intent to focus on the provisions of the ordinance, not the fact of it. At the previous hearing, Daddio had questioned the adoption of the ordinance by ballot mid-Covid rather than at an open town meeting.

Of the several issues, access and fire suppression got the most discussion, given the array’s distance from reliable water sources and a jeep track-type route in from Lewiston Road. Working with Interim Fire Rescue Chief Craig Bouchard, Novel had offered to purchase an ATV with a tank, hose and reel for the department’s general use, a less environmentally invasive alternative to an onsite underground cistern and less expensive than a fire suppression system.

The ATV possibility sparked sharp criticism from Stephen Hathorne, speaking at the hearing as a resident rather than Select Board member. Hathorne accused Novel of trying to buy approval and noted that ATVs aren’t listed as a fire suppression option under the ordinance.

When it was his turn to respond, Novel Vice President Ralph Kaehler took offense at what he called “a blatantly false” attack on his company’s integrity and, by implication, NGFR Interim Chief Bouchard. Novel had sought a solution that would benefit the entire community, Kaehler said, and at the same time meet a water supply requirement that’s unique to New Gloucester among Novel’s 19 projects in Maine.

As it turned out, the ATV idea failed to get traction with the full board. Member Dan Ellingson called the ATV “a creative solution,” but he appeared to be in the minority. Ellingson also said life safety and the type of fire should be the key, a point on which Novel concurred. The risk was minimal, Novel’s Kaehler said—in this case, a grass fire, according to the Maine Forest Service and Gray Fire Department whom Novel had consulted. Gray FD thought the project, remote from houses and with little fuel to feed a grass fire, presented minimal threat, Kaehler said. And Gray offered mutual aid with its UTVs.

Still, the ordinance calls for a reliable water supply. Talk turned to cisterns. Members noted that the only cistern size mentioned in the Fire Protection section of the ordinance calls for 15,000 gallons for a minor subdivision, that is, serving multiple lots/houses. Board chair Doug McAtee said that if the NGFR Chief considers an ATV with a 60-gallon tank an appropriate solution, then the fire risk must be minimal and any onsite cistern could also be minimal. Vice Chair Erik Hargreaves said a cistern would be “overkill.”

When time came to vote, member Don Libby proposed that the fire protection requirement be met with a 15,000-gallon cistern. The motion passed 4-1, with Hargreaves opposed. (Board member Ryan Tripp recused himself as an abutter and member Ben Tettlebaum was absent.)

Another issue concerned the ordinance requirement for visual buffers. Where a residential and non-residential use meet, the ordinance requires a buffer that ‘shields’ the incompatible use from view. Novel proposed a 50-foot run of spaced 6-foot spruce trees, estimated to grow to a height of 20 to 30 feet when mature. Counsel for abutter Stephen Daddio argued that ‘shield’ means fully block and not be visible.

Novel disagreed, preferring New Gloucester Code Enforcement Officer Rick Haas’ interpretation that ‘shield’ doesn’t require 100 percent blocking. A 4-1 majority of the board agreed with Novel (Steve Libby opposed) and found that its plan met the buffering standards.

The board resolved and checked off other items: the adequacy of the project’s visual impact assessment, to the extent possible requiring burial rather than poles for the incoming power cable, approving the array’s perimeter fencing and the project’s decommissioning plan. A final motion to approve the project carried 4-1 with Steve Libby opposed, citing the buffering plan and visual impact assessment.

If the final vote seemed a bit anticlimactic in the moment, the months of review preceding it might be why. The many long conversations, with questions from the board, comments from the public, clarification from staff, the ongoing back-and-forth that Novel’s Brittney Krebsbach called “great dialogue,” were impactful and altered the project. Among the changes that resulted: lowering the height of the panels from 35’ to 12’, increasing setbacks, fencing that facilitates wildlife passage, a more robust decommissioning plan and stronger financial guaranties.

When Novel might break ground on the project will depend on when final permits come through and conditions on the ground for construction, Krebsbach told NGX – maybe later this fall, maybe not until spring, depending.

To watch the video of the November 15, 2022, Planning Board meeting and public hearing, click here. For agendas, plans and other information, check the Planning Board page at this link.