The solar farm with the project titled Bristol Solar One is well under way at the former apple orchard of Minor’s Farm. Construction began in early March. The sign in the photo above is positioned adjacent to Rich Farms ice cream parlor. The sign provides a link to the website for the project, which describes the scope of the job and even the way it will be maintained.

The total capacity for the project, located at 399 Hill Street, will be 3.25 megawatts, which translates to 6,235 megawatt hours per year, enough to power 746 average homes.

Here is a satellite view of the array.

And here is a photo of the current construction site.

Once operational, the City of Bristol will receive annual tax revenues from Verogy, the company building and running the site, for an estimated 20 years.

The project should be completed in about six months.

It is estimated that the Bristol Solar One will have a lifespan of 35 years, and at the end of its lifespan, the solar array will be decommissioned and removed from the property. The land will then be restored to its original condition.

The project will be using about 16.5 acres of the property out of a total of 28 acres. The remainder of the land will be available for agriculture or open space.

One interesting facet of the solar project will be the means they will use to maintain the grass and other growth around the solar panels. The site will be divided into 3 sections, and a herd of sheep will graze in one section at a time, keeping the growth down while allowing the grass and vegetation to regrow in the unused section.

You can find more information on the Verogy website. Or you can contact them by email or phone.

Project Contact, Bryan Fitzgerald, Director of Development, bfitzgerald@verogy.com, phone (203)257-3375