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JAY — The Select Board responded Tuesday to a rapid petition drive by voting to place a proposed 180‑day moratorium on commercial solar farm development on the Nov. 3 ballot and setting a Sept. 14 public hearing.
At the board’s Aug. 24 meeting, the request for a moratorium failed when no member moved to place it on the ballot.
That decision sparked a petition drive that gathered 534 valid signatures Friday and Saturday — well more than the 226 required, or 10% of the 2,251 votes cast in the 2022 gubernatorial election.
Walden Renewables of Portland has begun work to install solar energy arrays on 800 to 900 acres across several sites in Jay.
The company plans to lease about 2,500 acres in total, though many parcels would serve as buffers or for other non‑panel uses.
Walden said the completed project would be the largest in Maine and could take three to four years to build.
Sixty‑six people attended the board’s special meeting at Spruce Mountain Middle School to hear Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere tell members that the petition signatures had been certified and that the board should “move the question on to voters” unless it “finds problems with the language.”
No board member raised concerns.
The petition reads, in part: “Shall the Town of Jay adopt a 180‑day moratorium … on the acceptance, processing, approval, issuance or commencement of new commercial ground‑mounted solar energy facilities.”
If voters adopt the freeze, the petition states, the town will use the time to review and consider “its comprehensive plan, land use ordinance, permitting standards, siting requirements, environmental safeguards, decommissioning requirements, financial assurance requirements and other municipal regulations.”
According to the warrant provisions for the election, which Jay conducts as a special town meeting, the town’s work would involve the Select Board, the Planning Board, the code enforcement officer and other town officials, committees, boards and consultants.
The warrant provision states that the reviews must “apply generally” and not be specific to any one project.
The board voted 3‑0 to place the moratorium on the general election ballot in November. Selectman Tim DeMillo abstained, saying, “I recused myself.”
When the board was asked Aug. 24 to place the item on the ballot, DeMillo did not participate in the discussion, saying, “We have been in discussion with some people about it (placing solar panels) on my property.”
Selectman Gary McGrane was absent Tuesday. He told Monitor Local that he missed the meeting because of his father‑in‑law’s funeral.
Clint Brooks, who has long been active in town and school affairs, led the petition drive. He said earlier that 12 to 15 people were circulating the petitions. Once Town Clerk Raeleen York certified the signatures, the special meeting was called.
After the meeting, Brooks thanked “all board members in attendance for their unanimous support in recognizing the passion that exists everywhere in Jay for addressing the solar issue in a respectful and responsible manner.”
Brooks continued, “We are sensitive to the position that landowners have taken regarding the solar issue and hope that collectively we can reach a mutual understanding on paving a path forward that meets their needs while protecting and maintaining the precious, irreplaceable resources.”
“Neither I nor the people that I am working with are anti‑solar or against identifying and using renewable energy sources.”New content is available
Dale Knapp, head of development in New England for Walden Renewables, said Walden will not suspend its work until the vote.
“We’re going to continue to try to move this project forward,” he said.
Knapp said Walden has about two dozen scientists and others working on site review, compliance and other issues. Much of the project might be on land previously occupied by the Androscoggin Mill, started and operated for decades by International Paper Co.
Construction of a much smaller solar farm in Sanford is employing about 110 workers, Knapp said.
The Sanford farm is expected to generate about 20 megawatts, while the Jay project, also called Alden Mill Solar, could generate up to 150 megawatts, roughly the same as the Androscoggin Mill’s generating capacity.
Knapp said the developers plan to hold two public information meetings after the Select Board’s public hearing to hear questions from residents and to update residents on the plans.
The public hearing set for Sept. 14 is expected to be one of two the board will hold that night.
The other public hearing is on a proposed ordinance to limit increases that owners of mobile home parks are allowed to charge the people who set up mobile homes in those parks.
The hearings are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at Spruce Mountain Middle School.
After the meeting, Monitor Local reached out to the candidates running to represent Jay in the Maine House of Representatives for their views on the solar farm moratorium.
Incumbent Rep. Sheila Lyman, R‑Livermore Falls, did not respond, while her Democratic challenger, Trevor Doiron, replied by email that the response by petition signers “sends a clear message that people have serious concerns about development of this scale, and I take that very seriously.”
“At the same time,” Doiron wrote, “I want to understand the legal effect of the specific moratorium before taking a position on it.”
He noted that Jay does not have a policy specific to solar farms.
The meeting Tuesday lasted about eight minutes before the board went into executive session to discuss negotiations with the union representing the town’s police officers.