SOLAR Noise Pollution to New Housing Development & Dead Buffer Trees

[LMadsen]

SOLAR Noise Pollution to New Housing Development & Dead Buffer Trees - Impact Quality of Life for New Housing Development
$420K + plus homes

https://energynews.us/2023/06/16/neighb ... ar-energy/

Some key points excerpted from the original article regarding an Industrial Solar Array Field issued 6/16/2023

"But when the 29-acre project on East Road went into operation in late 2021, Van Steenburgh immediately heard a constant ringing in the air from electrical equipment at the site. What he describes as an “annoying high-pitched tone,” audible whenever it was sunny, followed him into his front and back yards.

His next-door neighbor Josh Bergendahl, 33, was bothered as well by what he describes as a “high-pitched fan noise.” ""

“As soon as the sun comes up until it goes down,” Bergendahl said. “When I had friends come over to my house, they would say, ‘How can they think that’s acceptable?’” While town zoning regulations don’t apply to the project, Bowsza said, he was directing the town building official to determine if conditions at the project are in compliance with state building and fire codes"

While other projects have not generated similar complaints, the problems on East Road are stoking opposition to new proposals. Just over the border in Ellington, for example, residents are opposing a solar facility proposed on farmland by another developer, citing in part the noise and dead trees at the East Windsor project.

Foster sponsored a legislative amendment this year that would have given municipalities the authority to block projects located within five miles of an existing solar project larger than 100 MW. East Windsor is host to a 120 MW solar project — the largest in the Northeast — being built on 485 acres of fields, woods and sand and gravel quarries.

It passed in the House but did not receive a vote in the Senate before the legislative session concluded this month.

Van Steenburgh thinks the siting regulations ought to be revised to ensure that a situation like the one he’s in doesn’t happen again.

“The siting council needs to be more diligent in looking at sites before approval,” he said.