BD unveils plan to use solar array

NORTH CANAAN — Becton-Dickinson is in the process of expanding its manufacturing facility, and is now proposing to build a major solar array to offset some power usage at the manufacturing plant.

Engineer Todd Parsons of Lenard Engineering said he planned to take the project to the Inland Wetlands Commission this month, and brought it to the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) Jan. 12 to discuss procedure. It appears the project will not need any special approvals. 

The ground-mounted solar array will consist of about 7,000 panel modules on about 10 acres in the southern corner of the rear of the property off Route 7 South. It will require extensive clearing of trees there. That portion of the property is well set back from the main road, but abuts the Northwest Connecticut Rod & Gun Club.

“Town and state regulations have not kept up with emerging technology,” Parsons said, adding that there is nothing in the North Canaan regulations regarding solar voltaic systems.

P&Z Chairman Steve Allyn said the commission has approved similar projects before, considering them basically as a structure. As long as it meets requirements of a structure in a particular zone, it is in compliance and needs only site plan approval. 

As for wetlands, Parsons said the project footprint is just inside the 100-foot buffer for wetlands and not within the flood plain, for which a separate set of regulations applies. A general construction permit from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is needed.

No public hearing is anticipated.

Parsons said he did not know what percentage of the plant’s electrical use might be offset.

In 2013, P&Z took an extensive look at a 552-panel installation at Freund’s Farm in East Canaan. The array is close to Route 44 and supplies electricity to the milking parlor across the road. Since it complied with setbacks from the road and adjoining property, the project was issued a zoning permit.

Latest News

Classifieds - December 4, 2025

Help Wanted

CARE GIVER NEEDED: Part Time. Sharon. 407-620-7777.

SNOW PLOWER NEEDED: Sharon Mountain. 407-620-7777.

Keep ReadingShow less
Legal Notices - December 4, 2025

LEGAL NOTICE

TOWN OF CANAAN/FALLS VILLAGE

Keep ReadingShow less
‘Les Flashs d’Anne’: friendship, fire and photographs
‘Les Flashs d’Anne’: friendship, fire and photographs
‘Les Flashs d’Anne’: friendship, fire and photographs

Anne Day is a photographer who lives in Salisbury. In November 2025, a small book titled “Les Flashs d’Anne: Friendship Among the Ashes with Hervé Guibert,” written by Day and edited by Jordan Weitzman, was published by Magic Hour Press.

The book features photographs salvaged from the fire that destroyed her home in 2013. A chronicle of loss, this collection of stories and charred images quietly reveals the story of her close friendship with Hervé Guibert (1955-1991), the French journalist, writer and photographer, and the adventures they shared on assignments for French daily newspaper Le Monde. The book’s title refers to an epoymous article Guibert wrote about Day.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nurit Koppel brings one-woman show to Stissing Center
Writer and performer Nurit Koppel
Provided

In 1983, writer and performer Nurit Koppel met comedian Richard Lewis in a bodega on Eighth Avenue in New York City, and they became instant best friends. The story of their extraordinary bond, the love affair that blossomed from it, and the winding roads their lives took are the basis of “Apologies Necessary,” the deeply personal and sharply funny one-woman show that Koppel will perform in an intimate staged reading at Stissing Center for Arts and Culture in Pine Plains on Dec. 14.

The show humorously reflects on friendship, fame and forgiveness, and recalls a memorable encounter with Lewis’ best friend — yes, that Larry David ­— who pops up to offer his signature commentary on everything from babies on planes to cookie brands and sports obsessions.

Keep ReadingShow less