DEM Approves Solar Project Modifications

By Cynthia Drummond for BRVCA
November 29th 2023

RICHMOND – As construction continues on a commercial-scale solar energy project at 172 Beaver River Road, the owner of the property, William Stamp Jr., and the developer, GD Beaver River I LLC, have received authorization to change several components of the approved site plan.

Nancy Freeman, an environmental scientist in the Freshwater Wetlands program of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, notified Stamp in a letter dated Nov. 10 that the proposed alterations to the plan, submitted to DEM on Sept. 15, had been approved.

Chuck Horbert, DEM’s Deputy Administrator, Groundwater and Wetlands Protection, responded to questions about the approved changes in the following emailed statement:

“- Access roads and equipment pads were reduced in footprint and relocated further to the west, farther away from the Beaver River and associated wetlands;

-The solar array footprint was reduced in size to allow for a larger buffer between the array and Beaver River Road to the west.

-A temporary irrigation well was included to facilitate quick vegetative stabilization of the site after construction;

-The portion of the interconnection that was originally to be located underground was revised to use poles and overhead wires.”

The most noteworthy of the changes is the use of overhead wires and poles instead of the underground utilities that were specified in the plan.

Freeman states in her letter to Stamp that given the “Wild and Scenic” designation of the Beaver River, the agency hopes that the developer will find a way to make the poles and wires less visible.

“The Beaver River is a designated Wild and Scenic River,” she writes. “Although the revised interconnection meets the Exempt Activities per the Rules for new utility work, any efforts or design configurations to avoid an overhead wire and poles in this location are encouraged [that would not result in further impacts to freshwater wetlands.]”

Some History

The solar array is being built on a 41-acre property, owned by William Stamp Jr., located in the Beaver River Valley, which, in 2021, was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

In addition, the Beaver River was one of the river segments designated Wild and Scenic under the federal Wood-Pawcatuck Wild and Scenic River Act.

Neither of those formal acknowledgments of the historic and natural qualities of the Beaver River Valley, and the river itself, could prevent the conversion of the field to a commercial solar array.

Nor did the Town of Richmond’s repeated denials of a special use permit, which was required because the parcel is in a residential zone where such a use is not permitted.

When both the Planning and Zoning Boards denied the application, the developer appealed to the Rhode Island Superior Court, which remanded the case to the Zoning Board, which again denied the special use permit.

The developer filed another court appeal, challenging the reasons for the denial and this time, the court ruled in its favor. Justice Sarah Taft-Carter stated in her March 31 decision that board’s reasons for denying the application were “factually or legally unsupported,” and ordered the Zoning Board to issue the special use permit.

Once the permit was issued, construction at the site began immediately.

More Legal Decisions Pending

In a final attempt to stop the project, the town and abutting property owner John Peixinho, have each petitioned the Rhode Island Supreme Court for a “writ of certiorari,” an order to review the decision by the lower court.

Richmond Town Solicitor Karen Ellsworth said she had not heard any news regarding the petition she submitted last June on behalf of the town.

“We’re still waiting for the Supreme Court to decide whether to grant the petition,” she said.

Peixinho’s attorney, Thomas Dickinson, said he was not expecting any news until after the holidays.

“It’s still pending, and I wouldn’t expect to hear much for another month or so,” he said.

Such petitions, however, are granted only rarely, and as the project’s opponents await news from the Supreme Court, construction continues, the developer seemingly confident that the court will once again rule in his favor.