Connecticut approves Simsbury golf-course solar on prime farmland soils after developer pledges beekeeping and crops
The Siting Council approved a 4.65-megawatt array on a former golf course after the agriculture department relied on planned farming, and required a bond to restore the prime soils.
Solar developers eyeing Connecticut land with prime farm soils can clear the state agriculture review by committing to farm the site, but they must then post a bond to restore those soils when the array comes out. On August 6, 2026, the Connecticut Siting Council (the “Council”), the state body that approves power facilities in place of local zoning, ruled in LSE Lynx LLC, Petition No. 1698 (Conn. Siting Council Aug. 6, 2026), that a 4.65-megawatt (AC) solar facility at 140 Nod Road in Simsbury would not have a substantial adverse environmental effect, approving it by declaratory ruling under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 16-50k by a vote of seven to none, with one member absent.
LSE Lynx LLC, Petition No. 1698 (Conn. Siting Council Aug. 6, 2026); Conn. Gen. Stat. § 16-50k(a); Conn. Pub. Act No. 25-127 (2025)