CT Solar Projects (Petition/Applications) Points

A point representing one project (sites identified as solar petitions or applications/dockets through the CT Siting Council) placed in the general center (not necessarily inside a polygon) of the project area. Point attributes include details about each project as gathered from the associated petition/application page on the CT Siting Council webpage (see CSC Weblink field). Attribute fields include:

• Petition ID: The ID of the petition/application that was sent to the CT Siting Council. Some petitions are denied, withdrawn, or modified then later reopened with a new ID. For modified or reopened petitions, the Siting Council adds a letter to the original ID, which is shown in this field. “CT” precedes the ID if the project was submitted as a petition, and “CTD” is used for those that were submitted as a docket (application).
• Town: The town where the project is located as identified in the petition.
• Status: The project status as identified by the CT Siting Council, such as pending, approved, denied, withdrawn, or remanded.
• CSC Weblink: CT Siting Council web link to project information.
• Date Submitted to CSC: Date the CT Siting Council first received the petition/application.
• CSC Decision Date: Date the CT Siting Council made the final decision on the petition/application.
• Proposed Nameplate Capacity (MW AC): The proposed megawatt AC nameplate capacity for the project, as shown in the petition/application.
• Company: The company (developer) listed as the petitioner for the individual project.
• Parent Company: Parent company for the company (developer) listed as the petitioner (can cover multiple petitions/applications).

Approved Projects – Solar Panels

A polygon layer of solar panels/arrays that have been approved by the CT Siting Council.  Not all approved solar projects have been built, so this group includes three layers (1) Panels – Built projects, (2) Panels – Approved but not built, and (3) All Panels (includes both built and approved but not built). Attribute fields include:

• Petition ID: The ID that corresponds to the petition/application that was sent to the CT Siting Council. Some petitions are denied, withdrawn, or modified then later reopened with a different ID. For modified or reopened petitions, the Siting Council adds a letter to the original ID, which is then represented in this field. “CT” precedes the ID if the project was submitted as a petition, and “CTD” is used for those that were submitted as a docket (application).
• Feature Type: Indicates if the polygon features are panels, fencing, or cleared land.
• Town: The town where the project is located as identified in the petition/application.
• Status: The project status as identified by the Siting Council such as pending, approved, denied, withdrawn, or remanded.
• Date Submitted to CSC: Date the CT Siting Council first received the petition/application.
• CSC Decision Date: Date the CT Siting Council made the final decision on the petition/application.
• CSC Weblink: CT Siting Council web link to project information.
• Proposed Nameplate Capacity (MW AC): The proposed megawatt AC nameplate capacity for the project, as shown in the petition/application. Pop-ups show the total nameplate capacity for the project, so if a project contains multiple polygons the nameplate capacities will be listed as the total, not the capacity of the individual polygon.
• Build Status: Indicates if an approved project has been built, is under construction, or has not been built.
• Company: The company (developer) listed as the petitioner for the individual project.
• Parent Company: Parent company for the company (developer) listed as the petitioner (can cover multiple petitions/applications).
• Dominant Pre-Solar Land Cover: The dominant land cover on the site before the project was constructed.

Approved Projects - Fencing

Large scale solar projects are usually surrounded by fencing. This layer shows fencing surrounding the approved and built solar projects. Similar to the solar panel layer, the fencing layer is split into three categories (1) Built projects, (2) Approved but not built, and (3) All Fencing (includes both built and approved but not built).

Project Footprint/Limit of Disturbance (LOD) and Prior Land Cover

Solar projects require more land than what is needed for just the panels themselves, especially those that are ground-mounted (i.e., not on rooftops or over parking lots). The Project Footprint is a polygon layer that shows the total land associated with an approved solar project including energy infrastructure, stormwater retainment (such as detention ponds), and additional cleared vegetation to reduce shading. The Proposed Project Footprint (Not Built) layer shows the potential LOD, as provided in the site plans. Attribute fields include:

• Petition ID: The ID that corresponds to the petition/application that was sent to the CSC. Some petitions are denied, withdrawn, or modified then later reopened with a different ID. For modified or reopened petitions, the Siting Council adds a letter to the original ID, which is then represented in this field. “CT” preceded the ID if the project was submitted as a petition, and “CTD” is used for those that were submitted as a docket (application).
• Feature Type: Indicates if the polygon features are panels, fencing, or cleared land.
• Town: The town where the project is located as identified in the petition/application.
• Status: The project status as identified by the CT Siting Council such as pending, approved, denied, withdrawn, or remanded.
• Date Submitted to CSC: Date the CT Siting Council first received the petition/application.
• CSC Decision Date: Date the CT Siting Council made the final decision on the petition/application.
• CSC Weblink: CT Siting Council web link to project information.
• Build Status: Indicates if an approved project has been built, is under construction, or has not been built.
• Company: The company (developer) listed as the petitioner for the individual project.
• Parent Company: Parent company for the company (developer) listed as the petitioner (can cover multiple petitions/applications).
• Dominant Pre-Solar Land Cover: The dominant land cover on the solar site before the project was constructed.

Limit of Disturbance – Prior Land Cover

This layer shows the land cover that existed prior to the solar project installation.

Parcels with Approved Solar Projects

Parcels are property boundaries and their associated property information as provided by municipal assessor information (called CAMA, Computer-Assisted Mass Appraisal). The full dataset is maintained by municipalities and then collected annually by the Councils of Governments (COGs) and made available through the CT GIS Office on the CT Geodata Portal. The Parcels with Approved Solar Projects layer contains only parcels that contain or intersect approved solar panel polygons.

The Parcels with Approved Solar layer is included because of CT Public Act No. 26-127 (House Bill No. 5340), which provides specific restrictions based on area of parcels with approved solar compared to the area of the town.

Municipalities

The Municipalities polygon layer originates from the CT Department of Transportation's (DOT) municipalities layer. In the viewer, additional calculations are shown in the pop-up window.

• Total town area. Area is part of the DOT's layer and is calculated using GIS.
• Number of approved solar projects contains the number of projects in the town. The total includes both built and proposed projects.

The following calculations are listed for both all Approved Solar Projects (includes both built and proposed ) as well as Approved and Built Projects. (a subset of All Approved Projects). Towns where all approved projects have been built are noted.

• Solar panel area is calculated by summing the area of panel polygons within the town. Percent is calculated by dividing the solar panel area by the town area.
• Area of parcels that contain solar projects is calculated first by identifying the parcels that contain solar polygons and then summing their area. Percent is calculated by dividing the determined parcel area by the town area.

Municipalities

Town polygon layer originating from the CT Department of Transportation's municipalities layer. This layer includes additional calculations related to solar, see Layers: Municipalities (Towns) section.

Farmland Soils

Farmland soils is a layer of soil polygons that are identified as prime farmland, farmland of statewide importance, farmland of local importance, or unique farmland. It identifies the location and extent of the soils that are best suited to food, feed, fiber, forage, and oilseed crops. The layer is part of the Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO) produced by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), part of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). The farmland soils layer is provided by CT DEEP.

Aerial Imagery

Aerial imagery is captured from an airplane using a digital sensor pointed straight down. Aerial imagery captures a snapsnot in time and is extremely valuable for mapping of all kinds. In this solar mapping work, aerial imagery was the base of much of the mapping including determining where solar projects are and to what extent. The layers described above can be compared to the aerial imagery datasets to confirm the extent, prior land cover, change over time, and more.

The aerial imagery datasets are named as

year of acquisition + season (spring or summer) + pixel resolution

Year of acquisition: The year that the airplane flew with a sensor and captured the image.

Season: The time of year of image capture. Spring acquisitions are completed between snow melt and leaf out to maximize visibility of ground structures. Summer acquisitions are during the growing season and are useful for assessing things that grow such as crops and trees.

Pixel resolution: Digital images are made of pixels, or picture elements. The size of the pixel determines the detail that is visible. The smaller the pixel size, the more detail (and the larger the file size). A 1 meter pixel means that each square pixel of the digital image covers one square meter on the ground. Imagery available here ranges from 1 meter to 3 inch pixels.

The Aerial Imagery is accessed through CT ECO.

2016 Land Cover (1m)

The high-resolution land cover is produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) and is part of the Coastal Change Analysis Program (CCAP). It was created from 2016 aerial imagery has 1 meter pixels and 17 classes.
class descriptions  |  more from NOAA  |  more from UConn CLEAR and CT ECO

Zoom In and Out

Zoom in and out of the map using the + and -  located in the upper left corner of the map. Alternatively, use the scroll wheel on your mouse.

To pan around the map, left-click on the map and hold the left mouse button while dragging. The cursor will turn into hand while the pan is active. If you get "lost" on your map and need to go back to the big picture, use the Default View   button in the upper left.

Basemaps

A Basemap draws below the other layers in a map. To change the basemap, click on the Basemap Gallery icon. Choose from a long list of options. Don't know what to choose? Try the Imagery Hybrid, Topographic, or the Dark or Light Gray Canvas.

TIP!  Although not technically listed under the basemap button, any of the Elevation or Aerial Imagery layers can be turned on in the Map Layers list and function as a basemap.

Overview Map

The Overview Map icon is a tiny arrow in the lower right corner of the viewer. Click to open and show the map and click  to close it.

Layer List

In the Viewer, the Map Layers list is open by default on the right side of the viewer when using a large screen device. When using a tablet or mobile device, locate the Map Layers icon .

Some layers are listed in Groups. Click on the  to open a group. The group needs to be checked in order for layers inside it to be visible .

In this example, the Approved Projects - Solar Panels Group is checked on as well as the All Panels layer inside the group. The other layers are not visible on the map.

Expand as many groups as you like and turn on  any combination of layers. Remember that layers draw in order. Layers higher up on the list will draw above and on top of layers below. Layers often overlap so may cover each other up. If this is the case, use transparency or turn the layer off.

Reorder Layers

The CT Utility-Scale Solar Viewer allows changing the order of layers. Locate the 6-dot reposition  symbol next to a layer. The mouse turns to a cross-hair indicating that clicking and dragging the layer will move it to a different spot on the list. Layers can also be moved outside of their home group and/or into a different group.

Remember that layers draw in order. Layers higher up on the list will draw above and on top of layers below. Layers often overlap so may cover each other up. If this is the case, use transparency or turn the layer off.

Options

Each group item and layer has three-dots on the far right which opens the Options menu. Some layers types have more options than others.

TIP! The Options menu is not accessible (it is grayed out) if the layer is not visible (be sure the layer AND the group are both checked).

• Transparency

Transparency makes a layer partially or fully see-through.

• Zoom to

Zooms to the extent of the data layer. Most layers in the CT Utility-Scale Solar Viewer are statewide.

It is important to be familiar with the layers before using them for a particular application. See the Layers section above. Layer information can also be accessed inside the viewer by clicking the Layer Info button at the top right.

The Legend is automatically displayed to the right of the map next to the Map Layers tab when using a large screen device. Click the tab to view the legend, which will include the symbology for the layers that are visible on the map.

When using the viewer on tablets or mobile devices, access the Legend using the icon .  To Collapse or Close the Legend on tablets or mobile devices, click on the double arrow or X on the right of the panel title.

Symbology, or the symbols used for a layer (which are also shown in the legend), can also be viewed in the Map Layers list. Click on the Legend icon  to the right of the layer name to show the legend.

TIP! Selecting the Legend icon for a group will show the legend for all active (visible) layers of the group.

TIP! To turn off the legend so that it is no longer visible, click the Legend icon again.

Clicking on the map at any location opens a pop-up that contains information at that location for any layer that is visible AND has a feature at that location. If more than one layer has a feature at that spot, use the Previous and Next arrows in the upper left or lower left depending on the box location to to flip through the features. The upper or lower right corner shows how many features are at that location and the Select feature icon lists them.

The information in the pop-up comes from the layer's attribute table. Try clicking on different features on the map and notice how the information in the pop-up changes. To view the full table record for any feature, choose the Actions icon , below the title in the pop-up, and then View in table.

Zoom to changes the map extent to center on all features that are at that location. It can be a big or small area depending on the size of the lines or polygons included.

TIP! Raster layers, which are the ones made of pixels, behave differently in a pop-up than vector layers, which are the ones made of lines, points, and polygons.

Location Search

Use the Search Tool (upper right corner of the map) to find a location, place, address, and more. Type into the Search window and press Enter. Search Results will appear below the search box or in the side panel. Click on a result and the map will zoom with that feature centered on the map. Click the  to remove the search results.

Find My Location

The Find my location button adds your current location to the map and zooms to it. The blue dot is your location. Note that the location could be influenced by the internet provider and/or the accuracy of the basemap. It also requires location to be enabled on your device.

Measure

Select the Measure icon and then choose to measure distance  or measure area . Once a measure tool is selected, the mouse turns to an orange circle.

Click on the map to start the measure. Notice that the orange and white line or orange fill is measuring as the mouse moves. Click again to add vertices and continue until the line or shape is complete. Double-click to finish. The measurement is shown on the map and in the Measurement window. The units can be changed at any time.

TIP! While in the middle of measuring, you can makes changes to the measurement units, turning layers on and off, moving the measurement window, and more.

Scale Bar

The scale bar is in the lower left corner of the map. The feature compares a map distance to the actual distance in real life. The number shown is a ratio between the distance on a map and the corresponding distance in the real world. The more zoomed-out the map is, the larger the the number.

Many layers in the Map Layers List have features that include attributes, or information about the features. Access the attributes in the Table by clicking on located at the bottom of the map when using a large or medium screen device (i.e. computer or tablet). On a mobile device, open the Table by clicking the table icon . Once the table is open, there are many ways to interact with the information.

1. Layers. Use the drop down arrow to access the layer of interest.
2. Show selection. Shows just the features that have been selected.
3. Clear selection. Clears the selected data.
4. Refresh. Refreshes the data in the table.
5. Show/hide columns. Removes or add columns to the table view.
6. Actions. Use the Action menu to access the following tools, which can be applied to the entire dataset or just the selected features: