HARTFORD, CT – State lawmakers who say they’ve heard from constituents about incessant noise from large solar projects are pushing for more local control of where those projects can be built.
“(Communities) have no authority when noise becomes a burden,” said state Rep. Jaime Foster, D-Ellington.
Foster, other lawmakers, and local officials have been dealing with complaints from neighbors of a solar array in East Windsor for years. Among the issues, they say, is that municipalities have no ability to limit when a project can be built. That power rests with the Connecticut Siting Council.
“The problem is that it is an overreach by the state,” said Rep. Carol Hall, R-Enfield. “Local municipalities can’t regulate (where solar projects are built), They have zero control and say.”
Local noise ordinances don’t apply in these cases, said East Windsor First Selectman Jason Bowsza. In some cases, solar projects qualify for tax exemptions so the municipality has its hands tied on dealing with complaints while losing revenue.
During a press conference to advocate for legislation that would give towns greater say, Foster played a recording of a screeching sound a local resident said she recorded from the East Windsor project. Equipment including inverters and transformers produce the noise.
Many of the state’s large solar arrays are located in the north-central part of the state, but lawmakers said similar issues are playing out across Connecticut.
“We want renewable energy, but not at the cost of torturing neighbors, said Sen. Saud Anwar, D-South Windsor.
He said noise mitigation is possible once a project is built but it must be a priority. Foster and Bowsza said efforts to deal with the company in East Windsor have been unsuccessful and the siting council has not helped.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify which project has been a source of noise complaints in East Windsor.
