Fearing Hill Road solar projects draw criticism

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A 20-acre solar panel proposed for Fearing Hill Road drew much public criticism at the June 28 Planning Council meeting.

The project, which will be located at 91 and 101 Fearing Hill Rd., Would be located on a 44-acre site.

Joe Shanahan, Wareham MA 3, LLC., Spoke about the project. Shanahan works for Con Edison, a company that develops solar projects across the country.

Shanahan said the network will cover 20 of the 40 acres of sites. Currently, the land is not developed. He said the project would be set back 100 feet from Fearing Hill Road and would be surrounded by a wooded buffer zone to minimize the impact on neighboring properties.

The solar panel would be surrounded by a vegetated access road and a security fence. A gravel access road would lead to the solar field from the street.

There is a raised ridge in the center of the site which has raised concerns with council that the solar panels will be visible from the street or neighbors’ properties. Mike King, a board member, suggested the company do a line-of-sight review to make sure the signs are not visible.

About seven speakers opposed the project. The planning board meeting was held in person with remote access via zoom, but those who participated in the zoom call said they could barely understand what was being said at the meeting. (Note: This reporter found the audio quality on the meeting’s WCTV stream to be better.)

Lisa Morales, who participated via zoom, expressed her frustration that the abuters were initially informed that the meeting was to be held virtually and were not notified again of the change to a hybrid meeting, particularly because it was difficult to understand what was being said from a distance. .

Several people living nearby expressed serious concern about the impact of land clearing on stormwater runoff, especially because the ridge line is made up of glacial till sediments deposited by a poorly absorbent glacier. After the trees were felled, neighbors said they feared more flooding on their properties. One of them said her basement was flooded with even half an inch of rain.

Shanahan said the company planned to move dirt around the site to flatten it and create two earthen berms meant to alleviate stormwater runoff measures that did not seem to comfort the neighbors.

Several people discussed the impact of land clearing on local animal and plant populations. Annie Hayes and Kathy Pappalardo said they saw endangered box turtles in the area, and another commenter said state data shows the site is inhabited by a handful of plant and animal species. threatened that are not mentioned in the company’s request.

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