John Petell had the solar array installed in his yard late last year as a way to reduce his home's reliance on the electrical grid. The Petell solar panel dispute has become a small version of the controversies over the aesthetics of alternative energy proposals across the state.

HUNTINGTON -- A neighborhood dispute over a new solar array that seemed headed toward a Vermont Public Service Board hearing might soon end with the planting of strategically placed evergreen trees.

John Petell had the solar array installed in his yard late last year as a way to reduce his home's reliance on the electrical grid. The Petell solar panel dispute has become a small version of the controversies over the aesthetics of alternative energy proposals across the state.

For instance, the Vermont Public Service Board was scheduled to hold a public hearing Tuesday night on a proposed wind turbine project in Milton and Georgia. People who live near the Milton project object to it in part because of how it might affect the view. Proposed wind projects in Sheffield, Ira, Londonderry and Manchester also face opposition.

The Huntington dispute, though, appears headed toward a simple solution. The solar array's size, roughly 10 by 16 feet, is much smaller and more manageable than a wind project. The dispute is populated by people who expressed a willingness Tuesday to find solutions among themselves.

Petell's neighbors, George and Patricia Brisson, object to the solar array because glare from the shiny panels sometimes beams onto their property, preventing them from enjoying their yard and the commanding view of Camels Hump from their home.

Because the Petell solar panels are tied to the electrical grid, the array is subject to Vermont Public Service Board approval. Gregg Faber, a utility analyst for the board, held a pre-hearing conference on the dispute Tuesday, but an actual board hearing might not occur.

Petell agreed to work with John Blittersdorf, the owner of Central Vermont Solar and Wind, which installed the panels, and the Brissons, to find the best location to plant trees. The Brissons said the trees, if they are evergreens and planted in the right location, would ease their concerns over the glare. Blittersdorf said the trees can be planted in such a way to ease the glare and not interfere with the function of the solar array.

If the dispute is settled, there would be less of a reason to hold PSB hearings, Faber reasoned.

However, a hearing into the Petell solar panels might still occur. Faber expressed concern they were installed before permits were issued, and the location of the panels is different than what had been indicated on permit applications.

Web link: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20090610/NEWS02/906100311"