Just four weeks ago, Granby filed suit against the council for authorizing Key Capture Energy’s plan for a 5-megawatt battery energy storage facility not far from the Salmon Brook; the town contends the council didn’t give enough weight to evidence of environmental and safety hazards. So far, court appeals against the Siting Council have a poor record of success. The courts have mostly ruled upheld the council’s decisions, noting that state law deliberately designed it to make decisions in the best interest of all Connecticut power customers and utility users — with freedom from obeying preferences of neighbors or the local community. But state lawmakers have been looking for ways to give citizens and communities more of a voice in the decisions, and are focusing efforts this spring on Senate Bill 78. It would require the Siting Council to include a representative from the community where a proposed facility would be located; the mayor or first selectman would be responsible for appointing that person. The local representative wouldn’t get a vote, but could deliberate with the council’s voting members. Currently the council is made up of a representative from the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, a designee from the state House speaker and another from the Senate president, and five public members appointed by the governor.
Big solar array in small CT town illustrates contention over Siting Council