Norwich — Representatives from the Connecticut Siting Council and the development firm hoping to build a 2.74-megawatt solar power project at the city landfill toured four areas of the Rogers Road site Wednesday as part of the state review process for the project.

Representatives from SolarCity, which would own and operate the facility, and Brightfields Development LLC, joined Norwich city Engineer Patrick McLaughlin in a hike to the top of two steeply sloped former landfill areas and back down again to view two flat fields across Rogers Road from the landfill.

The proposed project would include a combined total of 8,854 solar panels on the four sites to generate 2.74 megawatts of electric power that would be fed into Norwich Public Utilities lines.

SolarCity has a 20-year solar purchase power agreement with the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative, a consortium of municipally owned power generators in the state.

Michael Singer, principal of Brightfields Development, who led the 90-minute tour Wednesday, told state officials that the smaller of the two non-landfill areas would be developed only if it proves economically feasible.

Solar panels on that field, at the corner of Rogers Road and North Wawecus Hill Road, could generate only 83 kilowatts of electricity, Singer said.

Standing atop the former bulky waste landfill — which offered commanding views of the hilly, rural western Norwich landscape — Singer explained how the panels would be erected on platforms that would not penetrate the sealed landfill cap.

The developers would improve an existing gravel roadway to the top of the hill and would run the power lines in an enclosed pipe above ground parallel to the roadway to a point where the landfill cap ends and would send the power connections underground from there.

A similar plan is proposed for the top of the adjacent former municipal waste landfill hill, but atop this hill are several gas vents, including one encased by a large concrete block with holes.

The solar panels would be arranged with a 10-foot buffer around the large vent, and lesser buffers around the smaller vents.

The larger of the two fields is across the street from the landfill main entrance. Singer said this field is an ideal solar location, with straightforward, relatively easy construction on poles driven into the flat, dry ground.

He said the only land grading needed would be to install an access road and to create an earthen berm to serve as a visual buffer for neighbors during the winter.

The Rogers Road project — which does not need local planning and zoning permits — would be part of a network of several solar projects proposed by SolarCity and CMEEC.

A project in Bozrah is under construction with a connection to Bozrah Light & Power, owned by Groton Utilities.

In September, Brightfields and SolarCity officials toured the Stott Farm at the junction of Stott Avenue and Plain Hill Road in Norwich for a proposed 4.93-megawatt solar project.

The Siting Council has scheduled a Feb. 19, 2016, decision date for the Stott Avenue project.

And plans for another project with Groton Utilities on land owned by Groton City have been filed with the Connecticut Siting Council. A tour of that property is expected to be held soon, officials said Wednesday.

The projects would bring a combined total of 15 megawatts of solar generated electricity for CMEEC member utilities, including Norwich Public Utilities.

c.bessette@theday.com

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