Testimony in strong support of An Act Concerning the Siting of Certain Solar Facilities on Farmlands and Core Forests.

Testimony of the Connecticut Audubon Society to the Environment Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly in strong support of HB 6498, An Act Concerning the Siting of Certain Solar Facilities on Farmlands and Core Forests.

March 17, 2021

The Connecticut Audubon Society thanks the Committee and the sponsors of HB 6498, An Act Concerning the Siting of Certain Solar Facilities on Farmlands and Core Forests for proposing this important resolution and for the opportunity to express our strong support and to offer some additional suggestions. This proposal will provide for increased review of proposals to site solar facilities on certain farmlands and land that is core forest.

Farmlands are of course critical to the sustainability of Connecticut’s population and quality of life and provide important habitat for pollinators and other wildlife, but our primary focus in this testimony will be on forests and other wild habitats.

The Connecticut Audubon Society strongly supports the required transition of our energy supply into a sustainable portfolio that is net carbon neutral as soon as possible. However we do consider even renewable energy facilities a commercial use of land and the review should be no less stringent than it would be for siting of a traditional energy generation facility.

The net carbon ratio of the loss of forestlands and their carbon uptake and sequestration abilities and the impacts to state listed species must be fully considered in evaluating any new renewable energy proposals slated for undeveloped lands. Since such projects often have government support in the form of subsidies and/or tax credits and may also require permits from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, we strongly feel that impacts to state-listed species must be fully explored, minimized, avoided and/or mitigated in the planning process for any renewable energy production facilities.

Additionally we would recommend changing the name of the legislation to: “An Act Concerning the Siting of Renewable Energy Generation Facilities on Farmlands, Core Forests and on Habitat for State or Federally Listed Species of Wildlife and Plants.”

Further, we would like to see incentives to locate such renewable facilities in areas where development already occurs (for example, parking lots, roof tops, brownfields, edges of roadways, etc.) and that the impacts of any required transmission and maintenance infrastructure also be taken into account in the planning process.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide input on this important matter.

Patrick M. Comins, Executive Director