HARTFORD — In the last decade, 1,500 acres of farm and scenic land in East Windsor has been converted into large fields of aluminum-framed, glass-encased solar panels with semiconductors and copper wiring that has resulted in at least two fires last March and September. The solar photovoltaic facilities – known as solar farms, which are proliferating around the state – are helping Connecticut reach its goals in renewable energy production. With a recent approval of an expanded site, East Windsor is on track to produce about 170 megawatts, enough to power 34,000 homes. But the solar farms are encroaching on neighborhoods. Developers backed by private equity money are clear-cutting woodlands. On sunny days the solar fields create loud humming sounds that bother neighbors. There are more solar arrays planned in East Windsor, population about 11,440 on 26 square miles. Democratic First Selectman Jason Bowsza is beside himself, powerless to stop the solar developments. Without some sort of local control, state and municipal officials are hard-pressed to put the brakes on further property acquisition and solar development. “It’s beyond frustrating,” Bowsza said Friday afternoon, as he recalled talking this month with two key legislative committees. But a bipartisan group of state legislators has joined him, seizing on the solar farm expansions, fires and noise as a need to slow down.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/politics/article/solar-farm-fires-laws-22087635.php