Top 10: Panton rejects solar array; state has final say

There are a handful of certainties about the 50-megawatt solar array proposed to be installed on a 220-acre tract of Panton land.

Panton residents on Tuesday voted, 307-100, in an advisory ballot article that the town of Panton should not support a 50-megawatt solar array proposed for 220 acres west of Route 22A.

Middlebury College recently took a big step toward meeting the climate goals outlined in its Energy2028 initiative, particularly in its efforts to achieve 100% renewable energy use.

Along with choosing elected officials on Nov. 5, Panton residents will also make their opinions known on a 50-megawatt solar array proposed for a roughly 220-acre plot of land west of Route 22A surrounding the intersection of Slang and West roads.

Middlebury College, the Marble Works Business District and the Addison Independent recently took a step into a more sustainable future with the installation of the region’s first off-grid solar electric vehicle charging stations. Solaflect Energy, based i … (read more)

Aside from the obvious environmental and job benefits, community solar properly structured, can offer significant benefits for low- and middle-income participants.

We are hopeful our iconic natural beauty will be saved from egregious industrial development and preserved for future generations of both humans and wildlife.

When they go to the polls on Nov. 5, Panton residents will not only make their choices in political races, they’ll also express their opinions on a proposal to site Vermont’s largest solar array within the town’s borders.

The scale of the Panton solar proposal is out of character with the Vermont we all know and love.

At the end of last year I finally took the plunge and purchased an electric car. I have felt conflicted about the purchase ever since.

My reaction to Bill McKibben’s letter to Editor, May 16, Addison Independent, supporting the Panton solar project was one of great distress.

They produce clean renewable energy over which no wars will be fought.

Andy Kirkaldy’s story makes clear something that usually gets lost in these accounts: this array would replace an operation that uses huge amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus which then wash into Lake Champlain.

I could just break down and cry at the thought of 300 acres of beautiful farmland being turned into ugly solar panels!

There is no question about one element of the 50-megawatt solar array that is proposed for land west of Route 22A in Panton. At 300 acres, mostly now farmland, it would be big — Vermont’s largest.