A plan to build an industrial solar array on a longtime hayfield across from Lowell Graded School has split the small Orleans County town. Manchester-based MHG Solar wants to install about 14,000 panels on 27 acres of the 44-acre parcel, selling the power to Vermont Electric Co-op.
At a December public hearing before the state Public Utility Commission, resident Erin Josey said she understands Vermont's renewable energy goals but argued Lowell has few suitable spaces for development. The select board unanimously opposes the project, as does the Northeast Vermont Development Association, saying it conflicts with local and regional plans.
A recent town vote on raising up to $50,000 for legal fees to fight the project ended in a tie, 86-86. Select board Chair Jennifer Blay said the community is deeply divided, with some respecting the landowner family's right to sell and others wary of tax increases. The board later found $10,000 in unallocated funds for legal costs, and Blay said she will do most of the work herself.
Lowell, population 887, already hosts the state's largest wind farm, 21 turbines built over a decade ago after a contentious approval process. That project brought the town about $600,000 in payments last year. The solar installation, by contrast, would pay roughly $20,000 annually under state tax exemptions, according to Blay.
Thomas Hand, MHG Solar co-founder, said the site is ideal because it adjoins an electric substation, a rare combination. Construction must start by July to qualify for soon-expiring federal tax credits, according to the commission's schedule. Testimony and questioning run through April, followed by an evidentiary hearing.
Residents have raised concerns about viewshed impacts, grassland birds such as bobolinks, and loss of prime agricultural soil. Some remain frustrated by the earlier wind project fight, which Blay said left people "almost in tears" during a recent site visit. The PUC must decide whether the proposal serves Vermont's long-term public good.
NEK will be looking into the PUC docket for the case and any prior correspondence between the town and the developer.
Photo: K via Pexels. Photo is illustrative and not from the scene.
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