Abutter: Proposed Portsmouth solar farm belongs ‘in the sticks’

Developer testifies project won’t be nuisance to neighbors, however

EastBayRI.com ·

PORTSMOUTH — A Middletown resident whose property abuts a proposed solar farm off Jepson Lane told the Zoning Board of Review Thursday night that the project doesn’t belong in a residential neighborhood.

Robert King, of 200 Kesson Lane, said the project “should be in the sticks” and not near homes.

“This is a great project that needs to go someplace like a cornfield, where it’s not going to be bothering anyone,” he said, adding that he and other abutters are concerned about glare being reflected from the solar panels onto their property.

Mr. King spoke at the tail end of a hearing that had to be started from scratch Thursday due to the fact that he and several other Middletown abutters weren’t notified of the petition that first went before the zoning board on Jan. 19.

The petition by Portsmouth Solar LLC (a subsidiary of East Light Solar of Boston) to build a 2.5-megawatt solar farm in a residential zone abutting Seabury Apartments off Jepson Lane was then re-advertised, with new notices sent to all abutters.

The Seabury Apartments development owns the vacant property where the solar array is planned. Featuring nearly 8,400 solar panels, the project requires a special-use permit that’s not explicitly listed in the town’s zoning ordinance. The developers hope the solar farm will be operation by the end of this year.

If the project is approved, National Grid, under the Rhode Island Renewable Energy Growth Program, will purchase energy produced by the solar farm at 14.65 cents per kilowatt peak for 20 years.

Attorney Cory Chappell, representing Portsmouth Solar, said solar panels are allowed as an accessory use by right for private homeowners. In this case, however, the applicant needs a special-use permit because they will be the primary use.

Portsmouth Solar revealed one modification to its plan Thursday night. The original proposal called for two separate arrays of solar panels, but the new plan has only one that uses higher-capacity panels, according to Jamie Fordyce, one of the company’s principals.

“We view it as a lower-impact and better-conceived project,” Mr. Fordyce said.

Mr. Chappell led several experts through testimony for the project on behalf of Portsmouth Solar. Besides Mr. Fordyce, the zoning board heard from Alan A. Benevides, a civil engineer; Joshua Wheeler, a landscape architect with All Island Landscape; and Nathan Godfrey, a real estate consultant with Newport Appraisal Group, LLC.

They testified the project would be compatible with the surrounding residential neighborhood and wouldn’t cause any problems with odors, noise, lights or traffic, nor would it hurt surrounding property values.

“I can think of nothing more passive than solar,” Mr. Chappell said.

Plantings to block view

The solar panels would be tilted at a 25-degree angle and placed about a foot and and a half off the ground so they reach up about eight feet. Much of Thursday’s testimony centered around the developer’s aggressive landscaping plan, using arborvitae and other vegetation, designed to shield the solar panels from the view of someone standing at a two-story window from any direction.

“Any tree that grows to 16 feet will block the entire project,” said Mr. Chappell.

However, it will take time for those planted trees to grow to that height, Mr. Wheeler acknowledged upon questioning from Jeremiah Lynch, an attorney representing several neighbors. He said the trees would be about six to eight feet tall when planted and take an estimated six to eight years to grow to 16 feet.

That growth period seemed to be a sticking point with several neighbors who live on John Kesson Lane or Evelyn Circle in Middletown, several of whom attended Thursday’s meeting and voiced their concerns during testimony. Mr. King was the only one to take to the podium, however, after Mr. Lynch said he would wait until the next meeting to present his case.

“Would you vacate, please?” he told Mr. Chappell while rising to speak shortly before the hearing’s 10 p.m. cutoff time.

Mr. King refuted earlier testimony from Mr. Benevides, who said the panels won’t generate any glare or off-site reflection. He said according to his research, due to variabilities with sunrises and sunsets and because the solar panels won’t always be facing the sun directly, solar glare for abutters is unavoidable.

“We cannot help but be effected by light bouncing off the panels,” Mr. King said. “In particular, the Evelyn Circle people will be experiencing sun glare pretty much through the entire year from about sunrise to about 11 a.m. The people on John Kesson Lane will be effected more directly because of the density of the panels. We will be more effected not by sunrise or sunset but in the meat of the solar day.”

He also told the board that solar panels’ “dirty little secret” is that they can emit toxic chemicals during construction and disposal.

Zoning board member John Borden told Mr. King that while he was clearly knowledgable about the subject, unless he seeks to have himself accepted as an expert witness, by law the board must put less weight on his testimony.

‘Brand new to Portsmouth’

The solar farm, if approved, would be the first of its kind in this area. Mr. Fordyce said East Light Solar also has a 7-megawatt facility in Dartmouth, much larger than the one proposed here. He said it’s in a residential zone and there have never been any complaints about glare, noise or any other noxious elements.

Mr. Lynch, however, said the Dartmouth solar farm — in operation since 2014 — is adjacent to a power plant. “Is it possible that you’re not in a residential district?” he asked.

“It’s possible,” Mr. Fordyce responded.

The zoning board has never considered such a project, so it’s difficult to gauge how it will impact the surrounding residential area, Mr. Borden said.

“This is brand new to Portsmouth. We can’t look at past solar farms in Portsmouth and say, ‘Well, yeah they have impacted the property values in Sea Meadow farms,’” he said.

Mr. Borden asked Mr. Godfrey whether “the jury’s really out” on whether a solar farm will impact residential home values.

Mr. Godfrey acknowledged there aren’t many solar farms abutting residential neighborhoods in this area. Still, he said his research suggests Portsmouth Solar’s proposal “is as passive as it gets.”

“There’s simply no element here that would impact an abutting use,” he said.

The board will continue the hearing at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 4.

Portsmouth Zoning Board of Review, Portsmouth Solar, solar energy, solar power