Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection

2026 Solar Siting Study

Public Act 26-127, Section 16

Materials and Resources

Section 16(e) of Public Act 26-127 identifies seven (7) issues as the focus of a Department of Energy and Environmental Protection report to the General Assembly on the Equitable Distribution of Solar Siting (the Report):

  1. The location of solar facilities previously approved by the Connecticut Siting Council, with a focus on measuring and explaining the distribution of and concentration of solar facilities across the state; 
  2. how the Connecticut Siting Council can further minimize conflicts between solar development and other land use priorities, particularly in municipalities with greater concentrations of solar development; 
  3. an assessment of the effectiveness of Public Act 17-218 at protecting core forest and prime farmland resources in the solar facility siting process;
  4. the existence of project labor agreements between the developers of such solar facilities and the Connecticut State Building Trades Council;
  5. the potential economic impacts that solar facility development projects may have, including how many direct and indirect jobs would be created in a community and the surrounding region;
  6. how the developer of such projects may demonstrate that contractors and subcontractors have a registered apprenticeship program approved by the state, whose curriculum includes training for solar and other Class I renewable energy source construction; and
  7. how a developer may attest that contractors and subcontractors have no history of stop work orders, wage violations or licensing violations pending by a federal or state agency, nor have they been cited for any wage or licensing violations by a federal or state agency within the preceding five years.
The PA 26-127 Section 16 Draft Report Outline is available for review.
Section 16(c) of PA 26-127 specifies 13 consulting entities that DEEP must consult with in the process of developing their report: 
  • the Commissioner of Agriculture;
  • the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development;
  • the chairperson of the Connecticut Siting Council;
  • the president of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities;
  • the president of the Connecticut Council of Small Towns;
  • the executive director of the Capitol Region Council of Governments;
  • the president of the Connecticut State Building Trades Council;
  • a training director of a registered affiliate of the Connecticut State Building Trades Council;
  • the Secretary of Office of Policy and Management;
  • the chairperson of the Council on Environmental Quality;
  • the chairperson of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority;
  • the Consumer Counsel;
  • a conservation organization based in Connecticut with expertise in the management of forests; and
  • a conservation organization based in Connecticut with expertise in agrivoltaics and farmland soils

Throughout the development and consultations on this study, DEEP is engaging the public on this schedule: 

Timeline of development of the PA26-127 Section 16 Report

The PA26-127 Section 16 Report Notice of Proceeding and public comments received by September 10, 2026 are available on DEEP's Energy Filings. The Notice of Proceeding and public comments for the PA26-127 Section 11 Agrivoltaics Incentive Program Study can also be found on DEEP's Energy Filings.

In its meetings with the consulting organizations, DEEP identified several state web-based resources to provide data for the report, and consulting organizations identified additional resources. Various resources related to the report are shared here for transparency.

Resources Shared by DEEP:

Resources Shared by Consulting Entities:

Content last updated September 2026.