East Windsor Says No to Solar Expansion

In testimony submitted to the Connecticut Siting Council, for an October 9, 2025 public hearing, East Windsor’s First Selectman Jason Bowsza spoke out against the proposed expansion of the Gravel Pit Solar development. The proposed project seeks to expand an existing 120-megawatt AC solar facility located on eight parcels of land totaling approximately 636 acres with approximately 485 acres used to develop the facility. Those parcels are located near Apothecaries Hall Road, Plantation Road, Wapping Road and Windsorville Road. “First and foremost, East Windsor has been inundated with grid-scale solar facilities, consuming hundreds of acres of local farmland since 2018. The cumulative impact of these facilities on an entire village within the Town is unwelcome and changing its rural character, Bowsza explained. The First Selectman also informed the Council that “continued decimation of farmland and open space is not in keeping with the Town’s Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD).” Bowsza argues that the Connecticut Siting Council is responsible for protecting the town’s rural character, as specified in East Windsor’s POCD. First Selectman Bowsza also noted that the locations proposed in the expansion are “inappropriately” close to residential neighborhoods. He reminded the Council that since 2021, East Windsor’s concerns about the cumulative and negative impact of grid-scale solar developments on the community have been ignored by the Council. In 2021, East Windsor’s Board of Selectman and the Planning and Zoning Commission urged the Connecticut Siting Council to reject the Gravel Pit Solar development. However, the solar development was approved by the Connecticut Siting Council. Gravel Pit went online in 2023. Since 2018, grid-scale solar projects have consumed 1,500 acres of land in East Windsor, more than any other town in Connecticut.