WESTERLY — A ground-mounted photo voltaic panel array deliberate for Frontage Road since 2021 has acquired renewed closing approval from Westerly’s Planning Board.
The board gave the unique closing approval to the 800-kilowatt photo voltaic undertaking in January of 2022. The board beforehand authorized Centrica Business Solutions’ preliminary plan for a photo voltaic array on 6.35 hectares on a 42 -acre lot owned by Salvatore Scavello in November of 2021.
The photo voltaic set up will embrace ground-mounted panel arrays, a transformer, swap gears, electrical gear and new utility poles on the property to connect with the Rhode Island Energy circuit on Frontage Road. A 6-foot-tall safety fence not less than 20 ft away from the array can even be put in. Board members requested that the fence fully encompass the positioning as an alternative of opening up one facet as initially deliberate.
“The Planning Board approval is the primary of a number of steps within the ground-mounted photo voltaic array building course of,†William Nardone, the legal professional representing Centrica, mentioned. “Once we acquired the approval, we needed to look forward to the approval of the Rhode Island incentives, Rhode Island Renewable Energy Growth Program.â€
Centrica acquired notification of incentive approvals in October 2022, after which paid a $32,000 Certificate of Eligibility deposit in December of that 12 months.
Finalizing the financing for the undertaking will take one other six to eight months, Nardone defined, primarily based on fluctuating charges and market circumstances.
In July 2023, Centrica performed a “geotechnical exploration” of the positioning to find out subsurface circumstances, and a piece report was accomplished in October.
The subsequent steps after Planning Board approval embrace making use of for a photo voltaic allow and finishing website civil engineering work, which Nardone estimates will take two months, plus a further 4 months for electrical work, barring unexpected delays corresponding to climate or provide chain. points.
Nardone famous that the approval contains three circumstances, one among which requires the applicant to take steps to guard the furry small-leaved tick-trefoil, which is acknowledged as a state-threatened plant species. .
At the time of preliminary approval in 2021, components of the property have been designated as a pure heritage website, in response to a memorandum from Town Planner Nancy Letendre. The title is given by the state to the areas the place there are endangered species of wildlife and flora.
Scavello’s property was given the state designation as a result of it accommodates the habitat of two uncommon plant species: higher poverty rush, a state-listed species of concern, and customary yellow flax, a state- listed threatened species. Neither of the 2 identified listed species of the world have been noticed on the website when a botanist examined it, however the furry small-leaved tick-trefoil was noticed.
As a end result, species populations might be marked within the subject earlier than work begins on the positioning, Nardone mentioned.
The placement of photo voltaic panels, entry to website gear, staging areas, floor breaking and pole set up might be in areas that keep away from the species “to the best extent practicable,†he mentioned. he.
The firm can even be required to develop a decommissioning plan and publish a monetary bond with the town as a situation of approval.