State Agency To Weigh Public Hearing For Solar Plan

The Connecticut Siting Council will meet Thursday afternoon to decide if a public hearing is necessary for the planned United Illuminating solar park on the city’s closed dump in the West End of Seaside Park. The state agency’s authority includes jurisdiction over power facilities and transmission lines. The agency has received requests for a public hearing from residents in Black Rock and South End. A public hearing is an item on the council’s Thursday agenda.

The Connecticut Siting Council is a final step for greenlighting the project approved by the Bridgeport Parks Commission and City Council that calls for a 20-year lease agreement between the city and United Illuminating for the installation of 9,000 solar panels.

Last year Mayor Bill Finch announced a city partnership with United Illuminating for the Green Energy Park renewable energy project, one of the initiatives proposed in the City’s BGreen 2020 sustainability plan to create jobs, save taxpayers money and fight climate change.

Three weeks ago Melanie Bachman, staff attorney and acting executive director of the Connecticut Siting Council, announced that parties requesting a public hearing should email siting.council@ct.gov.

Bachman explained the application for approval is now within a 30-day review by Siting Council staff “so there will be no action on the petition by the Siting Council during this time period. However, this is an appropriate time for the submission of written comments and requests for a public hearing.”

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4 comments

  1. Finch opens up Pleasure Beach and in the same year destroys Seaside park with solar panels. Just imagine if he were to place solar panels on Pleasure Beach.

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  2. Pleasure Beach is way too logical. Better to ruin the property values of Black Rock–the community Finch holds in contempt for the pockets of wealth there–that is until he needs to suck up to them for votes or money. Decimate Black Rock and then trash the park of Barnum and Olmstead and declare victory. That’s what Nixon did with Vietnam. Decimate and declare victory. Be green and fry everyone else in the process. Go Bill.

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