Wetlands Agency Reviewing Solar/Electric Project For Sewage Plant

By Andrew Gorosko

Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) members this week accepted for review a proposal from the town to install equipment near the municipal sewage treatment plant that would convert sunlight into electricity to cover approximately 30 percent of the sewage plant’s electric supply needs.

IWC members are expected to discuss and possibly act on the application when they meet on December 14.

George Benson, town director of planning and land use, said that the solar-to-electric equipment installation would affect approximately 5,000 square feet of wetlands soil near the sewage treatment plant at 24 Commerce Road. The site is in a M-5 (Industrial) zone.

IWC Chairman Anne Peters said November 29 that she would be reviewing the specifics of the photovoltaic energy application before the December 14 IWC session.

The photovoltaic proposal does not require approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission, (P&Z), Mr Benson said.

OPEL Solar, Inc, of Shelton is the firm designated to install the photovoltaic equipment at the sewage treatment plant.

According to application documents submitted for the project, no earthen material would be removed or deposited at the site where the solar arrays would be installed.

The site, which includes approximately 5,000 square feet of wetlands soil would be cleared, graded, and trenched, with foundations installed for the structures that would support the solar/electric panels. The equipment would produce about 80 kilowatts of alternating current, which would be used by the sewage plant.

The sewage plant is one of the largest users of electricity locally, when considering the amount of power needed to keep its various equipment, including pumps, operating around the clock.

The electric project is expected to take between six and eight weeks to construct. The solar panel arrays would be enclosed by security fencing.

Fred Hurley, town director of public works, said the overall solar/electric project has a budget extending up to about $513,000.

About $338,000 of that amount would be covered by a Connecticut Clean Energy Fund grant, with the town’s Water & Sewer Authority (WSA) having authorized an additional $175,000 in spending for the project from its capital reserve fund.

The WSA oversees operations of the sewage treatment plant, which provides wastewater treatment for the central municipal sewer system that started running in 1997.

The solar arrays to be installed near the sewage treatment plant would automatically tilt to track the sun’s movement across the sky during the course of a day to maximize electric production, Mr Hurley said. Those arrays would be installed to the north and to the west of the sewage filter building at the treatment plant.

Such a solar/electric installation is projected to last for more than 30 years, he said. The equipment involves minimal maintenance, he added. The gear is projected to pay for itself in less than a decade, he said.

Mr Hurley said that construction on the solar project could be completed by early spring.

On November 21, Economic Development Commission (EDC) members approved a property boundary revision for Newtown Technology Park in connection with the installation of solar/electric panels near the adjacent sewage treatment plant.

Last March, IWC members approved the Newtown Technology Park for town-owned land as requested by the EDC as a site for future industrial development. The technology park’s wetlands protection aspects are now under review by the US Army Corps of Engineers.