Norfolk County residents should be outraged by solar farm proposal
By Canton CitizenDear Canton Community:
The Norfolk County Commission owns and operates Norfolk County Agricultural High School in Walpole. It is moving forward with plans to lease 25 acres of forest and farmland to a commercial solar development company. If the project proceeds, the lease will last for 20 years.
The project would take 17.5 acres of the beautiful field on North Street (behind Bubbling Brook Restaurant), and a further 7.5 acres of forest land (near the high school buildings), and convert those lands into large-scale solar plants. The development requires the destruction of 10-plus acres of forest and the installation of ground-mounted solar panels — all surrounded by high-wire fences. It would destroy the existing trail system in both locations and eliminate the Norfolk Aggie cross country course and Haunted Hayride route.
This proposal is in direct contravention of the state’s Model Zoning for the Regulation of Solar Energy Systems, published by the state Department of Energy Resources (DOER) in 2014, that states:
DOER strongly discourages locations that result in significant loss of land and natural resources, including farm and forest land, and encourages rooftop siting, as well as locations in industrial and commercial districts, or on vacant, disturbed land.
The separtment’s recommendation is clear. Large-scale solar projects should first utilize places like rooftops of public buildings, landfills, and unused highway land, rather than precious farm and forest land.
If, like us, you feel outraged by this proposal, please email and call your county and state representatives to voice your opposition. We support sustainable energy initiatives, but we should not pit one “green” initiative against another.
While the Walpole Board of Selectmen might object to this proposal, they may have limited power to stop it, since Norfolk County’s authority surpasses that of the town. The state is the ultimate authority to prevent this project from proceeding.
Make your opposition known!
Gerald Dundon, Susan Shocket and Tracy Firth
Walpole Preservation Alliance
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=70856
Posted by Canton Citizen
on Oct 30 2020. Filed under From One Citizen to Another, Opinion.
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