Windham council to weigh imposing a moratorium for solar projects

The Windham Town Council will examine imposing a 
moratorium on solar projects during a meeting on March 8.
Residents living near a proposed project say the solar array
will decrease their property values and does not fit into the
residential neighborhood there. FILE PHOTO  

By Ed Pierce

Residents of homes on Linnell Road off Route 302 in Windham are asking that the Windham Town Council impose a moratorium on new solar projects at its March 8 meeting so that land use zoning ordinances can be considered regarding large solar arrays in residential areas.

A new project planned for Windham by Green Lantern Solar would create a solar array on a wooded landlocked property which would abut three residences on Linnell Road. Green Lantern is in the process of purchasing the property and in installing the solar farm it would have to clear trees and build an access road to service the array.

Residents living near the proposed solar site say their property values would decline and the loss of trees on the property would be substantial. They appeared before the Windham Town Council on Feb. 22 and asked councilors to support a moratorium prior to the Windham Planning Board conducting a public hearing and final plan review on March 14.  

In 2019, the state of Maine incentivized various types of solar projects up to 5 megawatts. The law was specific to commercial grid large-scale solar developments for projects up to 20 acres of land. Such projects could be permitted on conditional use in residential if they pose no adverse effects on residential abutters and are compatible with other uses in districts with effective buffering employed.

A variance for Route 302 access to the landlocked parcel was approved by the Windham Zoning Board of Appeals approval in August 2021 if certain conditions were met. Linnell Road abutters say one of those conditions is that the project will not depreciate the economic value of surrounding properties and they told the council they disagree that it would not do that.

“There is an emergent need for a moratorium on commercial scale solar farms in Windham until an ordinance is implemented,” said Pam Hageny, a Windham resident whose property abuts the Green Lantern project. “I have lived in Windham, in my neighborhood for 27 years since 1995. The current owner of the property purchased the property with the knowledge that it was landlocked. Green Lantern has not yet purchased the property. My property abuts the proposed Green Lantern project on the residential zoned land. While it is a smaller area than the commercial zoned part of the parcel, it is the majority of land that abuts my backyard. It is an urgent matter for me.”

Currently the Town of Rangeley adopted specific definitions and standards related to solar arrays which is now being disputed in court. Other communities, such as Augusta, have weighed ordinances limiting how many solar arrays it allows, how much land they could use, and visibility and glare from large solar arrays.

To date four solar projects have been approved for Windham including at the old Windham Landfill, one at 464 Roosevelt Trail, the WH02 Solar project, and the Sebago Solar project. The only one to be completed so far is the landfill solar project and all the other projects not yet finished are adjacent to residential areas.

“I have heard the statement that ‘the town should not tell owners what to do on their property,’ and that is exactly what over half of the towns in Maine have done,” Hageny said. “They have done the work of developing ordinances for large-scale commercial solar array projects, to assure the development of solar energy occurs in concert with communities we reside. That is what we are asking the town of Windham to do.”

Amanda Lessard, Windham Planning Director, told councilors that sites defined as Public Utility Facilities are allowed in every district in Windham under the town’s current land use ordinance.

She said Green Lantern’s project is supposed to include a 50-foot buffer and the property in question is zoned C-2 commercial with some outlying residential.

Several councilors said they favor a moratorium while others said they are opposed implementing such a measure.

“I have a lot of concerns. We’ve done a lot of work to try to keep rural Windham rural and protect our farm, fields and open spaces,” said Councilor Brett Jones. “I can see this becoming an easy way for farmers to basically sell their hayfields and throw up a solar array. And that’s not exactly what we are trying to accomplish.” 

Jones said he would vote for a moratorium, but other councilors said they would not.

Councilors David Nadeau and Jarrod Maxfield said they would like to review Windham’s land use ordinances, but don’t think a moratorium is right for this situation.

Maxfield said moratoriums should be used as a last resort for emergencies and that if Green Lantern were to drop the project because of a moratorium, he said the property could then be used for just about anything because of its zoning.

Councilors will formally take up this item at the March 8 town council meeting. <