Solar talks resume in North Canaan

NORTH CANAAN — The Board of Selectmen has reopened discussions for establishing a solar panel array at the Transfer Station.

A previous arrangement with CTEC Solar to develop a solar farm for the town fell through due to the inability of the company to secure grant funding. First Selectman Brian Ohler described the situation as “a blessing in disguise” because the plan would have involved burying a transmission line through dense, native forest.

Solar talks resumed this spring after consultant Kirt Mayland contacted the selectmen with an offer to plan a new project. Around the same time, John Bunce, owner of the property just north of the Transfer Station, reached out to express interest in partnering with the town on such a project.

Mayland, who worked on the 13-acre array in Norfolk, began drafting an RFP (request for proposal) to present a new solar plan to the North Canaan selectmen. A special meeting of the BOS to review Mayland’s proposal is expected to take place in late May.

Ohler said the goal is to maximize megawatt output while minimizing cost to the town and impact on the environment. Instead of a buried transmission line, he said the new plan involves continuing three-phase power lines along West Main Street to the Transfer Station.

If a five-megawatt array is built, Ohler explained, the potential revenue to the town could be approximately $50,000 per year.

The consultant and infrastructure costs could be covered by the future revenues, meaning potentially “no out of pocket cost to the town,” Ohler said.

As of May 12, no special BOS meeting with Mayland had been scheduled.