By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

NAPLES — A company that developed a solar array in a blueberry field in Rockport is proposing one on 8.8 acres off Harrison Road in Naples.

The property, which is owned by Delvin Martin, is an undeveloped lot 150 acres in size, located 281 Harrison Road, across from Woodland Shore Drive 

The company, BWC Brandy Pond, LLC, has done the required, extensive wildlife studies, finding vernal pools and deer wintering areas as well as a wetlands stream — all of which down-sized the original project. 

The Naples Planning Board heard the sketch-plan presentation and responded with a desire to further investigate by doing a site walk on the land and definitely addressing any views of the solar arrays from the lake. 

“The proposed array is 8.8 acres. We will clear 18 acres to prevent shading because we need the array to absorb the sunlight,” said Amy, one of three people involved in Blue Wave Energy, the group that formed BWC Brandy Pond, LLC.

“We used a photo from a place in Rockport, Route 17. You are looking at Mason’s Pond and in the background is the array that is built in a blueberry field. Not the same exact size [as the proposed Naples one, which is smaller]. Those are the same types of panels and the same type of finish on the panels that we are proposing, almost transparent,” she said. “They are a little easier on the eyes. It doesn’t present any more glare. It’s not worse than glare from the water body. It blends in with the surroundings a little bit.” 

“In summary, from the original design, we have reduced our wetland impact from what would have been almost 87,000 square feet to 17,000 square feet of proposed wetland impact,” she said. 

The sticking point for the planning board member is the view-shed from the lake. This was mentioned during the presentation.

The BWC representative stated that if a person was in a boat on Long Lake, it is possible to see the top part of the array. 

Following the presentation, Naples Town Planner Ben Smith spoke

“The application in front of the board tonight is a sketch plan. This is the time to ask questions, provide feedback, and get a chance of have some interaction with the applicants,” Smith said. “There are a couple routine questions that the board should ask: Whether or not to have sun lapse for the project, whether or not to schedule a public hearing. That is pretty typical for a project of this size.”

“That third part is to discuss waivers that have been requested by the applicants. They haven’t requested a waiver but they are aware of the existing standard of zero visibility from great lakes and pond. They are proposing to install one that is somewhat visible from the lake from various locations,” Smith said. “What kinds of waiver would be acceptable to the board, what kind of language should be used given that there is a clear standard of zero visibility.”

Chairman Doug Bogdan added, “That zero visibility is all times of the year, not just summer.”

“When solar projects were first presented to the town, they were presented as not large. They were presented in derelict properties and sand pits. We are now clearing land to put in solar arrays. That was not how it was presented a year ago,” Bogdan said.

Naples Code Enforcement Officer (CEO) Kate Matthews also talked about the reasoning behind the solar ordinance which the Ordinance Review Committee helped to craft a few years ago. She said the committee intentionally and thoughtfully added as one of the standards of the Solar Ordinance that the solar equipment cannot be viewed in the rural zone or from bodies of water. 

“That was a big concern of the ORC,” Matthew said.

“It was a concern of the public,” Chairman Bogdan said.

Planning Board member Martina Witts also weighed in. “I strongly suggest that we do a site walk and have a public hearing. The abutters have been notified, but the people across the lake haven’t been notified. One of the benefits from the site walk is that the planning board can request additional plantings. I’m interested to see how many trees are evergreens and how many are deciduous. That would certainly effect that [view of the solar arrays] in the winter.”