© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Development Moves Forward On Massive Simsbury, Conn. Solar Project

AP Photo/Stewart Cairns
In this 2010 photo, solar panels at the 1.8 megawatt facility run by the Western Massachusetts Electric Company are shown. Simsbury's development would be much larger.

About 280 acres of undeveloped land in Simsbury were sold this week to make way for construction of the “Tobacco Valley Solar Farm.” Once built, it will be one of the largest solar arrays in New England, but the project has been controversial since its origins in 2016.

“This is a project that, I think, at the beginning, had our residents quite split,” said Eric Wellman, Simsbury’s first selectman. “I’ve gotten phone calls from people who are very concerned that this is coming. And I’ve also gotten phone calls from people who are very excited.”

Over months of debate and public meetings, residents complained the 26-megawatt project would change the character of Simsbury’s rural landscape. Residents and the state Department of Agriculture raised concerns about putting solar panels on farmland. And eventually, Simsbury sued to block development.

But last month, the town withdrew its case.

Wellman said Simsbury did that because the town recently reached a settlement with the developer, Deepwater Wind. That settlement includes water testing, a detailed decommissioning plan due when the project wraps up in about two decades, and visual screening.

“Key pieces of the settlement included them getting rid of what was known as ‘Parcel 5,’ which would have been the most visible parcel to both homeowners and cars driving by,” Wellman said. “We also have the right to purchase the property once it’s been decommissioned ... for a nominal fee, something like a dollar.”

Wellman estimates the town incurred legal fees of around $200,000 negotiating the project.

He said Deepwater already paid building permit fees of around $600,000 to Simsbury and that over the next two decades, the solar array will bring in about $500,000 in tax revenue annually.

“I see this largely as free money to the town to help reduce the property tax burden for our residents,” Wellman said.

This week, the developer, Tobacco Valley Solar -- now an offshoot of Deepwater Wind -- purchased the site for around $7.7 million from Griffin Industrial Realty, Inc.

A spokesperson for Tobacco Valley Solar said construction is slated to begin on the site this spring with the project fully built by the end of the year.

Patrick Skahill is a reporter and digital editor at Connecticut Public. Prior to becoming a reporter, he was the founding producer of Connecticut Public Radio's The Colin McEnroe Show, which began in 2009. Patrick's reporting has appeared on NPR's Morning Edition, Here & Now, and All Things Considered. He has also reported for the Marketplace Morning Report. He can be reached at pskahill@ctpublic.org.

Fund the Facts

You just read trusted, local journalism that’s free for everyone, thanks to donors like you.

If that matters to you, now is the time to give. Join the 50,000+ members powering honest reporting and a more connected — and civil! — Connecticut.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Fund the Facts

You just read trusted, local journalism that’s free for everyone, thanks to donors like you.

If that matters to you, now is the time to give. Join the 50,000+ members powering honest reporting and a more connected — and civil! — Connecticut.

Related Content