WESTFIELD – Consolidated Edison will appear before the Conservation Commission tonight and before the Planning Board next Tuesday, Dec. 1, to secure municipal permits for construction of a 12-acre solar farm at the former J.W. (Wayne) Cowles Construction site at 219 Russellville Road.
Con Edison Development of Valhalla, N.Y., has filed a notice of intent (NOI) with the Conservation Commission to allow construction of a two megawatt solar generating facility at the former contractor’s yard and gravel pit.
The issue before the commission is that Cowles created a number of small wetlands when he harvested sand and gravel below the water table on his property.
Conservation Coordinator Karen Leigh said Con Edison plans to consolidate the small wetlands, which are under the jurisdiction of the Conservation Commission, into one large wetland.
”The present wetlands are tiny wetlands spotted throughout the property,” Leigh said. “They are low-quality wetlands, so Con Edison plans to replicate – create one large wetland, with a vegetated buffer – near an existing wetland.”
“So, for our purposes, it is an improvement in terms of habitat and water quality. An improvement on so many levels over what is there now,” Leigh said.
The project will also have to be reviewed by the state Department of Environmental Protection which issues a water quality certification and the Army Corps of Engineers which also has jurisdiction over wetlands.
The Conservation Commission approved the reclamation of the site at its Aug. 25 meeting, to allow removal of stockpiles of construction and demolition debris, to clear the site for erection of the solar farm.
The City Council approved a 20-year tax agreement with Westfield Solar LLC at its June 4, 2015 session.
City Advancement Officer Joe Mitchell presented details of the agreement, requested by former Mayor Daniel M. Knapik, that will give Westfield Solar LLC, a subsidiary of Con Edison, a $2,000 tax reduction for the first 10 years of the tax agreement.
The council approved the agreement, which will require Con Edison to pay the city $8,000 a year for the solar farm equipment, which is taxed as personal property, for the first half of the agreement, and then pay $10,000 a year for the last 10 years of the agreement.
Mitchell said the agreement only applies to the solar equipment and that the property owner will continue to pay property taxes at the full rate for that property. The site includes a total of 37 acres.
Mitchell said that the site currently is unsuitable for use because of the presence of construction debris, including 56,000 tons of asphalt from roads, and that Westfield Solar will have to spend more than $300,000 to mitigate.
“This tax agreement is competitive and advantageous for the city because the site is currently an eyesore,” Mitchell said at the June meeting. “Westfield Solar will need to clean the site before the solar array is constructed.”
Con Edison Development is seeking approval from the Planning Board for a special permit, site plan and stormwater management plan to allow construction of a large-scale solar power generator.
The solar farm will occupy 12-15 acres in the center of the former gravel pit and will consist of approximately 9,000 solar panels, two inverters, two transformers and other incidental equipment needed to support the solar facility.
Electricity generated by the solar farm will be delivered to the Westfield Gas & Electric Department via an interconnection with the municipal utility electrical distribution system on Russellville Road.
