The town of Pomfret’s moratorium on large-scale solar projects officially ended with the adoption of new zoning regulations.

The Pomfret Town Board unanimously passed a local law detailing the new rules during a recent meeting – well ahead of the embargo’s mid-November expiration date.

“What we’re concerned about in the most part is where can (large solar fields) be, what can they look like and what are you going to do when they don’t work anymore?” Councilman Brett Christy previously summed up. “And that’s what we would like to address with this local law.”

Supervisor Donald Steger read aloud an abstract of the law during a public hearing shortly before board members voted on adoption. The law defines large-scale solar systems as having a capacity of more than 25 kilowatts for off-site consumption or sale. Such systems are only allowable in specific zoning districts and require a special use permit and a site plan review conducted by the planning board.

In May, the board enacted the six-month moratorium on the installation and placement of non-residential, non-rooftop solar energy equipment and systems (e.g. solar fields) to allow Pomfret time to investigate and adopt statutes for them, as none existed in the code.

The solar zoning law supersedes the law that established the moratorium, Town Attorney Jeffrey Passafaro noted.