Residents of the Flag Swamp Road area in North Dartmouth have sent an official petition to the state expressing their opposition to a solar project proposed for the area.

More than 40 abutters to the cranberry bog where the solar array may be built signed the March 16 letter against the project. 

NextSun Energy LLC is seeking zoning exemptions to construct a ground solar array and energy storage facility on a 44-acre site at 293 Flag Swamp Road.

The proposal falls under the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) program, which supports solar production on active agricultural land.

Many residents had previously expressed vocal opposition to the project at a public hearing on March 2 hosted by the state’s Department of Public Utilities. At the hearing, they said the solar array would harm the character of the neighborhood and raised questions about the agricultural aspects of the plan.

The petition put many of their concerns into writing.

“The site has been used for agricultural purposes for many years, but in recent years there has been no agricultural activity there,” read the petition. “Locating a solar farm on the 44-acre site would in essence, put a commercial business development there, a violation of the town bylaw.”

“It is a quiet place to live,” the petition continued. “Locating such a development at that site will only serve to disrupt the neighborhood and create a permanent eyesore.”

At the March 2 hearing, Adam Schumaker, Vice President of Development for NextSun, said that the company is “confident” that the project meets SMART standards.  

He also said NextSun would consider planting vegetation to screen the views of the solar panels and could help improve the conditions of Flag Swamp Road to make the project more palatable to neighbors.

The solar array would consist of 16,770 370-watt solar modules mounted on around 4,200 piers in rows 21 feet apart and would sit ten feet above the bogs.