In China, first of two solar projects gets approval

by Mary Grow

After a Feb. 25 public hearing that lasted only a minute because no one in the audience asked to testify, China Planning Board members approved the first of two solar projects near Route 3, with three conditions.

SunRaise Development LLC may place 17,800 3-by-5-foot solar panels on about 23 acres of Michael Willette’s 51-acre lot that includes his gravel pit. The land is off Windsor Road and Arnold Lane. (See The Town Line, Feb. 20)

SunRaise intends to apply for a second project farther east on Route 3. The application is likely to be submitted to either the March 10 or the March 24 Planning Board meeting.

Codes Officer Bill Butler said one other project is scheduled for each March meeting: on March 10, continued review of Jamie Nichols’ application for self-storage buildings on Vassalboro Road (see The Town Line, Feb. 6, here and here) and on March 24 consideration of an application for Phase Two of the causeway project at the head of China Lake’s east basin.

The Feb. 25 discussion of the solar project concluded that there will not be significant run-off from the site as long as the ground under the bottom edges of the solar panels is undisturbed and can retain water.

Project Manager Lisa Vickers and other SunRaise representatives said the panels will be near the ground, will face south and will have a non-glare coating to reduce visual impact. The property will be fenced; local firefighters will have the means to open the locked gate if necessary.

Once construction is done there should be no noise, dust or other disturbance from the panels. Construction is currently planned to start in November 2020 and finish in April 2021. Board member Toni Wall asked that construction truck drivers be made aware of hours when students at nearby Erskine Academy arrive and leave.

The solar panels will generate no solid waste or wastewater. The only potential hazard on the property will be the lithium ion batteries in small structures in the northeast corner. Because the field is partly over an aquifer, the application includes a spill control plan.

After voting the application was complete, planning board members evaluated it against the criteria in China’s Land Use Ordinance and found it fulfilled all requirements. They added the following conditions:

• A surety bond to cover decommissioning costs, should SunRaise be unable to, is to be made watertight before the town permit is issued, with SunRaise to pay legal costs involved.
• Butler needs a letter from South China Fire Chief Dick Morse saying he is satisfied department members are adequately trained and have access to the property.
• In order to protect ground-nesting birds, the first of the two annual mowings cannot be done before July 15.

After the board decision, Chairman Tom Miragliuolo issued the usual reminder that there is a 30-day window during which the decision can be appealed.

Butler briefed board members on two other issues, one pending and one, he believes, resolved.

The first is a request from Ryan Willette, owner of Zippy’s Car Wash, on Vassalboro Road, to pave a small additional piece of the driveway and to install more outside lights. Board members agreed they should review the proposed lights for possible impacts on neighbors.

The second issue was maintenance of the porous pavers required to reduce runoff from the parking lot at the Route 3 Family Dollar store. Butler said after state environmental officials questioned whether the pavers really absorb water, he talked with store management and expects annual maintenance and regular reports.