Vermont Public Utility Commission green lights Shaftsbury solar project

The Public Utility Commission gave the green light Monday to an 80-acre industrial solar field development on a sloping hillside of sprawling meadows, thick forests and agricultural fields in Shaftsbury.

Neighbors of the project and environmental advocates in southern Vermont have vehemently opposed the project first proposed in 2023 due to the potential environmental and aesthetic harm to the land. Multiple organizers said they are likely to appeal the commission’s decision to award VT Real Estate Holdings 1 LLC — also known as Shaftsbury Solar — a certificate of public good.

Alongside consideration of local impact, the commission’s decision in favor of the Connecticut developer, Freepoint Solar , owned by Freepoint Commodities, was “heavily informed by Vermont’s ambitious energy po