Solar permitting — Plymouth County, Massachusetts
On file: public meetings, local news, known opposition groups.
SE MA; Plymouth/Brockton area; Plymouth Rock tourism; suburban/rural mix; active utility-scale solar in rural. Permitting: Municipal Planning Board: Special Permit or variance. Track record: 23 SMART Program solar projects totaling 107 MW in…
Key driver: SE MA; Plymouth/Brockton area; Plymouth Rock tourism; suburban/rural mix; active utility-scale solar in rural areas; EFSB >25 MW
Permitting process
Local permitting pathway
Municipal Planning Board: Special Permit or variance (≤25 MW). EFSB master permit for >25 MW.
Setbacks & buffers
None codified at county level. Municipal bylaws govern ≤25 MW; EFSB review for >25 MW. — NOTE: the distances above are a STATE-level fallback, not a figure read from this county's own ordinance. We hold siting-rule records for this county which may include a stricter local limit we have not yet extracted. Verify against the county's own ordinance before relying on these.
Spacing requirements
None codified.
Size restrictions
None codified.
Penalties & bonding
No penalties or adjustments. Standard CUP/SUP process.
State-level permits & approvals
2024 Massachusetts Climate Act (signed Nov 21, 2024): historic reform of siting and permitting. Large projects (>25 MW generation or >100 MWh storage): Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB) consolidates state and local review into single master permit; 15-month deadline for EFSB decision. Small projects (≤25 MW / ≤100 MWh): municipalities retain permitting authority under new streamlined process (225 CMR 29.00 promulgated Feb 27, 2026; effective immediately). 12-month deadline for municipal decisions on small clean energy projects. MGL Ch.40A §3 (Massachusetts Zoning Act): zoning ordinances cannot prohibit or unreasonably regulate solar energy systems — long-standing solar protection for sub-threshold projects. DOER site suitability scoring framework; community benefit plan requirements for larger projects. ISO-NE interconnection required statewide.
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State policy & grid context
State RPS & clean energy policy
40% by 2030 + 80% Clean Peak / net-zero by 2050 | Act Creating Next-Gen Roadmap for MA Climate Policy (2021) | G.L. c.25A §11F
State incentive programs
MA SMART Program (Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target): production incentive paid per kWh generated for 10 years for projects ≤5 MW; administered by DOER/utilities. Adder rates for low-income housing, brownfields, rooftops, and agrivoltaic projects. Net metering: available statewide (up to 5 MW for behind-the-meter); MA expanded net metering cap via DPU. MA RPS: 40% renewable by 2030 (Class I); Class I solar carve-out drives SREC value. MA Clean Energy Center MassSave: rebates for commercial/industrial efficiency and solar. Utility: Eversource (NSTAR/WMECo) and National Grid serve most counties; Cape Light Compact serves Barnstable and Dukes; various municipal aggregations active.
Grid & interconnection
ISO-NE / Southeast Massachusetts (SEMA) zone — Eversource / Unitil
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Battery storage (BESS) P1 Active Storage Market
Town-zoned (no county land-use authority). Active towns: Carver, Wareham, Duxbury, Rochester, Middleborough. Tracked storage projects on file.
BESS ordinances & bylaws
- Statewide — Massachusetts DOER Draft BESS Model Bylaw (Oct 2025): three-tier system for municipalities. Tier 1 (<1 MWh), Tier 2 (1–10 MWh), Tier 3 (10–100 MWh). C
- Statewide — [STATEWIDE (applies to all towns in both counties)] Statewide model bylaw aligned to the Ch.239 of the Acts of 2024 consolidated siting/permitting reg
Tracked storage projects
- Cranberry Point Energy Storage
- West Street Battery Energy Storage System (Duxbury Energy Storage, LLC / New Leaf Energy)
- Old Middleboro Road PV + ESS (Agilitas Energy)
- 0 Hammond St CSG
- 59 Federal Rd(CSG)
- Old Middleboro Road Solar
- 0 Route 25 Solar + Storage (Wareham PV I LLC / Longroad Energy)
- 276 Federal Rd(CSG)
- 160 Tihonet Rd Hybrid(CSG)
- 299 Farm to Market Rd Hybrid(CSG)
- 77 Farm to Market Rd Hybrid(CSG)
- Cranberry Highway Solar LLC
- Syncarpha Halifax Hybrid CSG
- 196 Tremont St(CSG)
- 342 Circuit
- 71 Charlotte Furnace Rd Hybrid(CSG)
- 20 Bedford
- 27 Charge Pond Road & 150 Tihonet Road Solar + BESS (AD Makepeace / Borrego Solar / New Leaf)
- High Street Solar & Storage System
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County-level battery-storage status, safety requirements, and projects — each linked to a primary source.
Town & municipal bylaws
- CarverBESS — Replacement bylaw adopted after AG disapproved the town's 2022 solar/BESS moratorium; establishes tiered permitting, fire-compliance-plan requirements, buffer areas, and
- CarverBESS — Then-AG Maura Healey disapproved Carver's 11.5-month solar and battery-storage moratoria (passed at April 2022 Town Meeting, 387-87), citing Tracer Lane II Realty v. City
- CarverSolar — Carver Chapter 290 § 290-3-6 regulates large-scale ground-mounted solar photovoltaic installations (LSGMSPI), defined as 250 kW or more nameplate capacity or covering 1 o
- DuxburyBESS — Draft bylaw (initial warrant version dated 2025-12-30) would require a special permit from the Planning Board, route applications to Fire Chief/Police Chief/Board of Heal
- DuxburySolar — Duxbury has codified Article 621 (Solar Photovoltaic Facilities) in its zoning bylaws, last amended through the June 2025 Special Town Meeting. The Massachusetts Land Cou
- East BridgewaterSolar — East Bridgewater's zoning bylaw addresses solar energy in three places. Section 2(7) requires ALL ground-mounted solar installations town-wide to be enclosed by a 5-foot
- HalifaxSolar — Halifax's Chapter 167 Zoning Bylaw (last revised May 14, 2018) governs solar energy in town. Multiple ground-mounted solar farms have been approved via site plan review u
- HanoverSolar — Hanover's zoning bylaw defines Renewable Energy to include solar photovoltaic and solar thermal electric energy. Ground-mounted solar panels are treated as separate struc
- LakevilleSolar — Lakeville's Chapter 270, Article 10 (§ 270-10 through § 270-10.3) establishes a Large-Scale Ground-Mounted Solar Photovoltaic Installations Overlay District, permitting g
- MarionSolar — Marion's Article XVI (Chapter 230) establishes a tiered permitting system for solar installations. Solar farms (utility-scale, ground-mounted) require a Special Permit pl
- MarshfieldSolar — Marshfield Chapter 305, Article XII, § 305-12.03 governs large-scale ground-mounted solar PV installations with 250 kW or greater nameplate capacity. Such installations r
- PembrokeSolar — Section V.12 of the February 2026 Pembroke Zoning Bylaws establishes a comprehensive solar photovoltaic bylaw. Large-scale ground-mounted solar (250 kW DC nameplate capac
- PlymouthSolar — Plymouth's § 207-11 allows Ground-Mounted Solar Photovoltaic Systems (GMSPS) as-of-right in all zoning districts subject to Site Plan Review. In residential districts, GM
- PlymptonSolar — Plympton Chapter 300, Article VI, § 300-6.10 (adopted by Town Meeting 6-17-2020) establishes as-of-right solar energy facility siting subject to nondiscretionary site pla
- RochesterBESS — Rochester adopted a Battery Energy Storage Systems bylaw (Chapter 22.80) on April 1, 2024. One search snippet indicates the bylaw addresses BESS systems not associated wi
- RochesterSolar — Rochester has Chapter 22.50 (Large Scale Solar Photovoltaic) governing large-scale ground-mounted solar installations, and a separate Chapter 21.40 (Ground-Mounted Photov
- RocklandSolar — Rockland's § 415-21.1 creates a Ground Mounted Solar PV Overlay District covering R-1 residential zones (minimum 5 contiguous acres of uplands) and I-2, I-3, and I-4 indu
- WarehamBESS — AG Assistant AG Nicole Caprioli approved Wareham's Article 24 BESS bylaw amendment on 2024-04-22 EXCEPT for Sections 597.10, 597.20, and the Table of Principal Uses provi
- WarehamSolar — Wareham's Section 590 (Solar Energy Generation Facilities) was substantially replaced at the Spring 2022 Town Meeting (Article S15). The current bylaw limits land-based s
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Zoning bylaws of the towns that hold siting and voting authority within this county — each linked to the primary document.
Community opposition P1
Organized opposition signals on record for this county — petitions, community groups, and oppositional coverage — each linked to its primary source.
- Carver Concerned Citizens Storage
- Protect Duxbury (Change.org petition) Storage
- Save the Pine Barrens / Community Land & Water Coalition, Inc. Storage
SitePath maintains the most complete community-opposition dataset available, refreshed continuously from primary sources.
Subscriber intel Subscribers
Researched for this county and available with a subscription:
- Project track record
- Developer intelligence
- Governing board
Energy-related meetings & dockets P1
No meetings on file for this jurisdiction flagged as discussing solar, BESS, data centers, wind, or transmission yet. Coverage expands weekly.
State PSC dockets P1
No tracked activity yet — coverage expands weekly.
Local news P3
- 2026-05-23 2 A Does Proximity To Nuclear Power Plants Increase Cancer Risk
- 2025-10-06 Duxbury Selectboard Confronts Controversial Residential Battery Storage Proposal as Community Demands Action
- 2025-09-19 Duxbury residents speak out over proposed 'battery farm' in residential neighborhood
- 2025-09-05 Duxbury Residents Voice Concerns Over Potential Battery Farm In Area
- 2025-07-09 In a First, Land Court Rules that Standalone Battery Energy Storage Facilities Are Protected Like Solar Energy Systems
- 2025-02-22 Right to build, right to deny: Solar developer lawsuits challenge Planning Board
- 2023-12-18 Updated: Planning board rejects Route 25 solar farm
- 2023-10-11 Solar battery fires addressed by proposed regulation
- 2023-04-20 Planning Board vetoes 0 Route 25 solar project
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