Norwich – A solar array developer and the head of Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative met for lunch several months ago at Stott's At Bat and Restaurant to discuss possible good “low-use” sites for large solar projects.

While there, the two noticed that the ice cream and sandwich shop was surrounded by huge cornfields which has been part of the Stott family farm for generations.

“We said 'if you ever consider doing something with your land, let us know,'” Drew Rankin, CEO of CMEEC, whose headquarters is down the road at 30 Stott Ave., recalled of that lunch meeting.

Last week, SolarCity and development partner Brightfields Development LLC submitted a petition to the Connecticut Siting Council seeking approval for a 4.93-megawatt solar electric generating facility encompassing about 15 acres of the 27-acre land owned by Kelvin and Frances Stott at 9 Stott Ave. and 292 Plain Hill Road.

The 15,912 solar panels would replace the sprawling cornfields and would displace Stott's At Bat, but the former Mountain View Dairy Farm house and buildings would remain intact and occupied by the Stott family, said Jean Stott, daughter of Kelvin and Frances Stott and the family spokeswoman.

The family operated a dairy farm at 292 Plain Hill Road from 1878 until a couple years ago. While the dairy farm has closed, Kelvin Stott still houses heifers for other farmers during the winter at the farm and leases the cornfields, she said.

Jean Stott said the family is pleased with the arrangement, saying it would trade one renewable resource – feed corn – for another, solar power.

“It's the perfect location for it,” she said.

Jean Stott said she would consider moving Stott's At Bat, open for 20 years, if a good site can be found. Otherwise, the business would close when construction starts.

The farmland already houses a large telecommunications tower and related ground equipment. Two new gravel access roads for the solar project would be constructed off the tower access drive.

The development would be part of a network of several proposed solar projects CMEEC is working on in southeastern Connecticut that could provide 15 megawatts of electricity to member municipal electric utilities, Rankin said.

The 4.93-megawatt proposed Stott Avenue project would generate 3.79 megawatts of AC electric power sent directly into Norwich Public Utilities' electric system. CMEEC also is working with SolarCity and Brightfields on a 2.13-megawatt project at the former Rogers Road landfill in Norwich, a 2.41-megawatt project in Bozrah and two projects in Groton, a 3.1-megawatt project at the Groton Utilities water treatment plant and a project still in negotiations on U.S. Navy property, Rankin said.

CMEEC has a 20-year purchase power agreement for electricity at the Stott Avenue project, Rankin said, with no rate changes for NPU or other CMEEC-member customers.

NPU General Manager John Bilda said tying the proposed Stott Avenue project into the NPU power system would be relatively inexpensive, since high-powered lines already are in place in the nearby Stanley Israelite Norwich Business Park. The solar site is at the edge of the park. 

According to the petition posted on the Siting Council website, each of the 15,912 individual solar panels would measure 65-by-39-inches and arranged on a 25-degree angle facing south. Four concrete pads would support inverters to convert the DC energy into AC electricity, and one concrete pad would hold equipment cabinets, including a sealed unit holding the lithium batteries.

Melanie Bachman, acting executive director for the Connecticut Siting Council, said the agency will schedule a public site walk this month with two council members and a staff analyst to tour the property and discuss the project. They will make a recommendation to the full council whether to hold a public hearing or approve the petition without a hearing. The Siting Council has 60 days from the Aug. 25 submittal date to make a decision, Bachman said.

Norwich Director of Planning Peter Davis said the project does not need a city planning commission permit, but might need wetlands permits once the Siting Council takes action.

c.bessette@theday.com

Twitter: @Bessettetheday