PLAINFIELD — Some 30 community members packed Town Hall last Thursday to hear what New Leaf Energy had to say about their plans to develop a 23-acre solar array at 66 North Union St. after they submitted a special permit proposal at the end of July.
In a public forum that lasted close to two and a half hours, there were tons of questions as New Leaf representatives were grilled by members of both the Planning Board and residents who are concerned about deforesting, the potential of battery leaks and fires, neighbors who are worried about noise from the solar array’s transformer, and whether the array would actually benefit anyone in town.
Deforesting, carbon tradeoff
Members of the Planning Board and residents expressed hesitation about 30 acres of trees coming down to accommodate 23 acres of panels.
The exact number of trees to be removed remains uncertain, however, but both stumps and roots will be removed, said Eric Weinstein and Brandon Smith, New Leaf’s project developer and engineer.
The overall process of downing trees and planting the array would take six to eight months, they said. Only four of those months would require active construction.
Planning Board member Judith Cole asked if they have studied the tradeoff between cutting down trees and the carbon emissions that would be saved by the clean energy solar farm.
Smith responded that consultants have analyzed the tradeoff, and showed that photovoltaic (PV) technology projects, “outproduce, if you will, a mature forest by tenfold,” he said.
“Over 20 years this project will actually sequester about 116,000 tons of carbon dioxide, and that’s accounting for the loss that cutting down the trees produces,” said Smith.
Underneath the array there will also be pollinator seed mixes to form ground vegetation. However, the company is not in the habit of replanting trees after the 20-year project has been completed.
Cole further pressed the officials saying, “you need to make a stronger case” for how the development would impact the town.
Weinstein responded that residents could potentially access the energy produced through a Community Solar program, which would potentially offer discounted energy rates for residents, in addition to the 20 years of tax dollars that will go to the town. He said on a broader state level there is a push for solar projects.
“We need more power just generally,” Weinstein said, citing the need for a grid to power artificial intelligence.
And why Plainfield? Weinstein said that the site proposed is 1,100 feet away from the town’s new electrical substation making it the perfect place to develop a farm.
The plans have also been revised to have a 75-foot boundary around the perimeter rather than the original 50 feet that was proposed.
Preventing battery disaster
Peter Lapointe of the Planning Board said that if there were to be a fire it would take time for the town’s volunteer fire department to respond. In addition, he said, water cannot be used to put out a battery fire.
Lapointe also called Plainfield, “the top of the world” in that the two wetlands by the site flow down into the Westfield River. Therefore he is concerned about contaminating the water, and said there would need to be care taken that there are no adverse impacts.
New Leaf solar officials said they would host a training session with the fire department so they know both the lay of the land and how to counteract a fire if it was to start at the array.
There is also the issue of noise. Lapointe said that people are drawn to Plainfield for the peace and quiet of the lifestyle there. Smith said the transformer that will be on site produces a sound of about 45 decibels, “which is the equivalent of a dishwasher running a room over,” emphasizing that the development will be tucked away from neighbors.
The Planning Board expects to visit the site of the proposed development ahead of its next meeting in two weeks on Sep. 25.
There are also other conversations that must continue with other boards and town officials.
For one, Weinstein proposed making an payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement with the town. Cole did not take kindly to this since she said taxes rise yearly which would result in New Leaf potentially paying less than their fair share. But Weinstein said this allows the farm to have consistency when predicting its overhead.
There also needs to be more details and conversations with emergency services, the conservation committee, and and finance committee, said members of the Planning Board.