Westborough Won't Pursue Solar Farm Land

Selectmen declined the town's right of first refusal.

Westborough won’t pursue buying about eight acres that Harvey’s Farm plans for a solar farm. Selectmen voted Tuesday night not to exercise Westborough’s right of first refusal under state law to buy the Maple Avenue land, which owner Jim Harvey seeks to remove from state Chapter 61A agricultural status. Harvey plans a ground mounted solar facility of about 2.4 megawatts, on about eight acres of his farm, attorney Adam Braillard noted. Selectmen recently voted to authorize Malloy to sign a 20-year contract with Sun Ray Power LLC to buy the net metering credits generated by the project at 7 Maple Ave. Tuesday night, Harvey said the Westborough Open Space Preservation Committee gave him “one day’s notice” of its scheduled meeting on the …

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Letter to the Editor

Letter: Resident To Request Tax Cut Due to Solar Farm

Send letters to the editor to maryjo.kurtz@patch.com.

  Dear Westborough Patch, I'm the major abutter at 59 Fisher Street and I was unaware of the solar farm until I received a notice from the conservation committee last year. Some promises were made with regard to plantings, but they have not materialized. All the trees are gone. I know the owner and his family and was somewhat surprised [to hear about the farm], as were most of the neighbors. Much of the groundwork is done, and I feel that nothing can be done by the neighborhood other than organizing and meeting with the owner and see if we can minimize the visual impact / noise factor/ health considerations as this is high voltage and there are security issues — not having an 8' fence with barbed wire surrounding the 1200 panels standing …

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