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February 4, 2025

Proposed bills would give CT municipalities ability to restrict solar facilities

CTEC SOLAR A solar project in Bloomfield.

State lawmakers have proposed two bills that would give Connecticut towns and cities more control over the siting of solar photovoltaic facilities.

The Energy and Technology Committee has proposed a bill, HB 6779, that would give municipalities the ability to regulate and restrict the proposed location of any nonresidential solar facility, and related infrastructure, that are not subject to the jurisdiction of the Connecticut Siting Council.

Another bill, HB 5928, submitted by state Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Putnam), would allow any municipality with two or more existing nonresidential solar facilities to approve or reject any additional proposed nonresidential solar facilities and to implement a moratorium on such facilities.

Currently, the Connecticut Siting Council approves solar photovoltaic systems and other renewable energy facilities with a generating capacity of 65 megawatts or less through a declaratory ruling process.

The Siting Council's decisions can override local zoning requirements.

A public hearing is set on HB 6779 for Tuesday.

State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Katie Dykes submitted written testimony opposing the bill, noting that an existing statute already provides municipalities with “broad authority to regulate the siting, construction and maintenance of local energy infrastructure.”

Dykes said that the bill, as written, could remove the role of local land use commissions to approve or deny renewable energy facilities, putting the decision fully in the hands of the “municipality.”

“It is unclear what the proposal contemplates with this change,” Dykes wrote.

The proposals follow recent legislative action imposing new restrictions on warehouse size limits.

In 2023, state Rep. William Pizzuto (R-Middlebury) inserted a controversial, last-minute budget amendment that prohibited towns with populations between 6,000 and 8,000 — which included Middlebury — from approving warehouses exceeding 100,000 square feet on certain sites. 

The provision was seen as specifically targeting a proposal by Drubner Equities LLC to develop a 720,000-square-foot distribution center at the former Timex headquarters.

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