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The Dire Ramifications

The Feb. 14 article [“Site Walk Scheduled for Proposed Killingworth Solar Facility”] regarding the proposed 1.98 megawatt solar farm to be built adjacent to Chatfield Hollow State Park and abutting private homes on Chestnut Hill Road does not nearly examine the dire environmental, residential, archaeological, and historical ramifications of clear-cutting 25 acres of pristine forest, most of which are wetlands, for the sake of a private solar company wanting to connect to the Green Hill substation located at 775 Green Hill Road in Madison.

The article states that this construct would be “capable of powering about 400 homes,” but these homes are not local; this energy will simply go into the Eversource grid and profit a multi-million-dollar solar firm with roots in Canada and will benefit local residents very little, if at all. This forestland, has been deemed by the Connecticut Council on Environmental Quality as vital core forest, which is quickly disappearing in our state and provides valuable habitat for plants, animal, amphibians, birds, and wildlife and contains pristine vernal pools.

Core forest should not be clear-cut for the sake of a private corporation’s bottom line, not to mention the fact that this project will ruin the historical features of original stone walls and Native American constructs. And finally, this project will permanently ruin and destroy the quality of that neighborhood; Chestnut Hill Road has been deemed a Scenic Rural Road by the State of Connecticut and holds tremendous historical significance not only for our towns, but for all of New England.

Residents of Killingworth, while for solar energy, are deeply disturbed by this proposed site, which will destroy not only vital forest, but also a significant historical parcel of our town. I encourage your readers to contact our group if they’d like to get involved at killingworthforesponsiblesolar@gmail.com.

Lorinne Kovachi-Sekban

Killingworth