<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">Doing the “solar math,” 200 kWh is about an acre’s worth of space. So this one is less than an acre - very small (and much smaller than most solar “farms” I’ve seen). A residential lot might be a comparable amount of disturbance. Why such concern over an acre of renewable energy generation?<br><br>Jeff Lacy <div>Rural Planning Associates </div><div>(413) 230-9693</div><div><br><div dir="ltr">Sent from my iPhone</div><div dir="ltr"><br><blockquote type="cite">On Nov 7, 2022, at 10:09 AM, Laura Harbottle via MassPlanners <massplanners@masscptc.org> wrote:<br><br></blockquote></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr">Good morning Massplanners,<br><div>Thank you so much for the help with issues concerning a proposed solar array. The size of what is proposed here is actually 184 kWh. But even a small array will still potentially impact natural resources and have public safety considerations. </div><div><br></div><div>I heard from one city and seven towns, most outside Route 495. In case this is helpful to any of you, here are the issues they talked about grouped roughly by general subject:</div><div><br></div><div><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-adb97bf4-7fff-5b8b-2e23-1bee4bedc6d2"><ul style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.305;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:12pt;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Visibility from the street; setbacks</span></p></li></ul><br><ul style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.305;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:12pt;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Removal of trees (Four towns mentioned this.) </span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.305;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:12pt;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Fencing around solar arrays can interrupt wildlife corridors (Two towns mentioned this.) </span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.305;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:12pt;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Net reduction in available agricultural soils</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.305;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:12pt;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Stormwater generated when the array is constructed and from the panels themselves. One town had topsoil stripped and sold by the solar developer with ongoing erosion issues post-construction. Several towns were concerned about the impact of stormwater on nearby wetlands.</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.305;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:12pt;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Some towns have required adding several inches of loam after construction and planting wildflower mix or pollinator species to prevent erosion and mitigate loss of habitat. Inspections are being required during construction to make sure stormwater is being properly handled. </span></p></li></ul><br><ul style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.305;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:12pt;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Public Safety departments are concerned with flammable materials in the storage batteries (Two towns mentioned this.) </span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.305;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:12pt;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">There should be emergency access to the panels (within the fenced area.) </span></p></li></ul><br><ul style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.305;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" role="presentation"><span style="font-size:12pt;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Multiple towns talked about getting a performance bond to guarantee construction and as a guarantee if decommissioning was necessary. </span></p></li></ul><div><font color="#000000" face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16px;white-space:pre-wrap"><br></span></font></div><div><font color="#000000" face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16px;white-space:pre-wrap">Thanks again,</span></font></div><div><font color="#000000" face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16px;white-space:pre-wrap"><br></span></font></div><div><font color="#000000" face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16px;white-space:pre-wrap">Laura Harbottle AICP</span></font></div><div><font color="#000000" face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16px;white-space:pre-wrap">Interim Town Planner</span></font></div><div><font color="#000000" face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16px;white-space:pre-wrap">5 Springdale Ave.</span></font></div><div><font color="#000000" face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16px;white-space:pre-wrap">Dover, MA 02030</span></font></div></span></div></div>
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