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Board approves amended Penley Corner Road solar plan with condition on emergency shutdown plans
Summary
Nexamp’s revised Penley Corner Road community solar project (roughly 0.99 MW) was approved after staff confirmed compliance with the town’s solar criteria; the board required that final as‑built plans showing shutdown mechanisms be provided to the fire prevention officer.
The Auburn Planning Board approved an amended special‑exception and site plan for a community solar array at Penley Corner Road after the applicant reduced the project size and revised the layout.
Henry Barrett, Nexamp’s director of business development, and Tom Daniels of TRC described reductions from an earlier 2.5 MW layout to a sub‑1 MW single‑axis tracker design and said the fenced area has shrunk to about 5.9 acres. Staff told the board the project complies with solar‑specific ordinance standards (height, lot coverage, soils, visual/maintenance/lighting criteria) and that overall solar acreage in the A‑zone remains well below the local 1% threshold that would trigger a separate land‑use stability review.
Neighbors and others raised questions about agricultural land use and the extent to which cultivated farmland is appropriate for solar; staff explained the site is not mapped as prime farmland under the ordinance’s prohibitions and that soils mapping had been evaluated. The board granted approval with a single technical condition: before final electrical approval, the applicant must provide as‑built plans to the fire prevention officer showing shutdown mechanisms and emergency response information.
The applicant said no tree clearing is required, the nearest existing house is about 430 ft from the panel field, and nearest panel array to the property line is about 90 ft. The board approved the special exception and site plan by voice vote.
