A Rhode Island town council unanimously approved changes to its zoning ordinance and comprehensive plan at a public hearing July 17, paving the way for the construction of one of southern Rhode Island's largest solar energy projects. 

Developed by Southern Sky Renewable Energy LLC of Warwick on 73 acres at 58 Main St., Ashaway, the 13.8-megawatt solar installation would comprise 43,000 solar panels. The Town Council first heard details of the proposal at a public hearing on June 5.

Council members agreed that solar energy was environmentally sustainable and that the project would also benefit the town financially, but several expressed regret that it would require the clear-cutting of 60 acres of forest, or approximately 30,000 trees.

"I mourn the loss of 30,000 trees, I really do," councilor David Husband said. "But something's going in there sooner or later. It could be town services, it could increase traffic, it could be a housing development, it could increase the number of children in our school system... Hopefully, this solar array is going to be very quiet - much quieter than a development."

Councilor Barbara Capalbo said she would rather see a single large solar installation in one place than many small ones scattered throughout the town.

"Hopkinton needs to choose where this is - it's truly a power plant, not a solar farm, since they extract, they do not farm - but if we have it in one location, I think we have reasons to then decide it does not need to be everywhere in town," she said. "In order to protect the larger entity, I am interested in solar in one spot."

The property, located on the south side of Alton Bradford Road, is in an RFR 80, or residential zone. Southern Sky, represented by attorney Vincent Naccarato, asked the town to amend the land use map of the town's comprehensive plan and change the residential zone to special manufacturing, which the council agreed to do, with several conditions: the installation must have approvals for interconnection from National Grid before any tree-cutting can begin; when the facility is at the end of its life, the property will automatically revert to a residential zone; the developer will grant an easement and several parking spaces to the Hopkinton Land Trust, which owns an adjacent property; the security fence surrounding the array will be elevated six inches off the ground to allow small animals to pass under it; the facility will produce noise not exceeding 55 decibels at a distance of three meters from the array, the threshold set by the World Health Organization.

The property currently generates just $6,137 in taxes per year, and the facility will generate considerably more tax revenue without requiring town services or adding children to the Chariho Regional School District. Council President Frank Landolfi said the project would add much-needed dollars to the town's tax coffers, and the town could also benefit from electricity discounts. The town's electric bill is $106,000 per year.

"It's anywhere from $140,000 to $211,000 per year in tax revenue for the town," he said. "That's not including if we jump on as an entity for this particular project and save 20 to 25 percent on our electric bill. That's another $26,000. So it's substantial. And I have to point out that we're moving into the 21st century here, and we have to adapt to that."

The project will now go back to the Planning Board for development plan review. It is not expected to be heard until September.

John Pennypacker of the "Keep Hopkinton Country" preservation group said he supports renewable energy, but he has doubts about large solar projects.

"I'm not in favor of large-scale solar," he said. "I think it offers diminishing returns to the town, but at the same time, I understand their position."

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