A group of local, state and business dignitaries gathered Friday to dedicate the launch of the Somers Solar Center, a massive renewable energy project that is being billed as the first of its kind for the area and the state.
Recently purchased in October by Dominion — the Virginia-based energy company that also operates the 2,100 megawatt Millstone nuclear plant in Waterford — the center is located behind just behind Pleasant View Golf Center off of Route 83.
Driving from the road, motorists will be able to catch a glimpse a portion of the 23,150 Kyocera solar panels that line a large section of an open field that sits roughly 500 yards beyond the golf course.
This is the first large scale solar project in the state of Connecticut, and is believed to be the first in the Northeast, officials said. Project Manager Doug Bondar said Dominion is planning on putting the solar project online by mid-December.
"This is what happens when you have good government working with industry," said First Selectman Lisa Pellegrini during the dedication ceremony, which included U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, state Sen. John Kissel, state Reps. Penny Bacchiochi and Lonnie Reed and a slew of other state officials, contractors and Dominion employees. "You get things done, you get it done in a relatively short period of time."
The solar center, built by Prime Solutions Inc. out of New Milford, occupies 50 acres and it generates roughly 5 megawatts of alternative current, which is then supplied to Connecticut Light & Power.
"We would like to think everyone in the state is going to see some benefit from this center's environmental impact," said Daniel Weekley, vice president of Dominion's government affairs.
It is just one of three solar projects that Dominion has put into service in 2013, the others being in Augusta, Georgia and Indianapolis, Indiana. Pellegrini said it had been a goal of hers to turn Somers into the "solar capitol for the state of Connecticut," as the town has already installed solar panels on top of several municipal buildings.
Weekley also said he considered it "preserving open space" as the company was using the land not for developments like condos or residential units.
The origins of the center are traced back to an energy law the state legislature enacted in 2011, allowing for the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to issue permits for the development of 10 megawatts of renewable energy to be sold to the two state's major utilities.
Courtney credited Reed, Gov. Dannel Malloy and all of the other lawmakers who pushed this legislation through, saying it provided an example nationally to how government can foster the development of renewable energies like solar.
"Smart investments in renewable energy production move us toward a secure, clean and independent energy future," Courtney said in a press release. "Thanks to federal programs like the Investment Tax Credit, Production Tax Credit and the Rrural Energy for America Program, projects like this one are strengthening local economies and helping defend against climate. change."
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