Yet, Rhode Island’s elected officials and state agencies have done little to redirect solar development to rooftops, highway medians that are routinely mowed, and already-destroyed areas. Unfortunately, Rhode Island refuses to properly address this ongoing woodland solar rampage. Without this core forest distinction, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management can’t restrict razing the land for large-scale solar development. “You shouldn’t clear tens of acres of woodlands to put solar in,” neighborhood resident Jason Bergenstock told ecoRI News two years ago when the NKGM Solar project was announced. You can bet there is no such preconstruction work for a ground-mounted solar project anywhere near The Preserve.