The first time Chris Dahl heard rumblings of a plan to build a large solar array among the corn fields and tobacco sheds of East Windsor, she said the project sounded like a good enough idea.

A portion of the land slated for development included a sand and gravel quarry that had become an attractive hangout for underage drinkers and ATV riders, much to the displeasure of local residents and town officials.

Plus, Dahl said, the project promised to produce gobs of clean, carbon-free electricity — the kind of mission that she and her wife, Robin Chesky, had supported by installing solar panels on the roof of their own home in town.

Dahl wasn’t alone in her initial feelings about the project, which even adopted a name highlighting its adaptive reuse of the old quarry: Gravel Pit Solar.

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