New Use May Be Coming to Former Newtown Smelting Plant

Newtown has received a grant from the state Department of Economic and Community Development that will pay for investigation of a former smelting plant site, reports the News-Times.

The $150,000 grant will allow for an assessment of contaminants above and below ground level.

The 30-acre former Batchelder site at 44 and 46a Swamp Rd. has been abandoned for three decades, but the goal is to turn it into a solar farm.

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The town would lease out the site, which would bring in revenue. The energy produced by the solar panels would either go onto the regional grid or potentially a local microgrid, which would provide power for a number of local businesses.

To read the full News-Times story, click here.

Photo from Kate Ausburn via Flickr Creative Commons.