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Massachusetts

Solar permitting — Plymouth County, Massachusetts

FIPS 25023

70 indexed meetings (5 energy-related), 9 news items, 1 tracked court case.

Plymouth County, MA

Compliance: ModerateSolar ordinance on fileTrajectory: ImprovingSaturation: High

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.

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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Full permitting requirements

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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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Full state policy & grid detail

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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. 6 tracked storage project(s).

Setback: varies by town; Wareham enforces 75 ft for ground-mounted solar (battery setbacks not separately codified in verified text); Duxbury draft bylaw effectively prohibits BESS in ~90% of town by district rather than a uniform setback ft

Local BESS ordinances & bylaws

Tracked storage projects

Cranberry Point Energy Storage150 MW / 300 MWh · EFSB dismissed the petition for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction (2023); referred to DPU for any zoning-exemption relief; town subsequently rezoned to bar large battery facilities from residential districts (April 2023 Town Meeting). Current build status of the facility itself is NOT confirmed in public reporting -- flagged as a gap. · Cranberry Point Energy Storage (EFSB Docket 21-02); community reporting sometimes cites 'Power Plus of Texas' as an affiliated petitioner -- not independently confirmed
West Street Battery Energy Storage System (Duxbury Energy Storage, LLC / New Leaf Energy)5 MW / 20 MWh · MA Land Court annulled the town's ZBA denial (2025-07-09, docket 23 MISC 000643 LER), ruling standalone BESS is protected under the Dover Amendment/Solar Energy Provision; local hearings continued into Sept 2025 amid intense resident opposition. Not yet confirmed built. · New Leaf Energy (project entity: Duxbury Energy Storage, LLC)
Old Middleboro Road PV + ESS (Agilitas Energy)9.6 MW / 13.4 MWh · Operational (commercial operation reached) · Agilitas Energy

0 Hammond St CSG5 MW · operating
59 Federal Rd(CSG)5 MW · operating
Old Middleboro Road Solar4.5 MW · operating
0 Route 25 Solar + Storage (Wareham PV I LLC / Longroad Energy)3.5 MW · Site plan review DENIED 2023-12-18 (75-ft setback non-compliance; applicant offered only 50 ft); project subsequently reported as withdrawn for resubmission without a battery-storage component · Wareham PV I LLC (Longroad Energy division)
276 Federal Rd(CSG)3.3 MW · operating
160 Tihonet Rd Hybrid(CSG)3.3 MW · operating
299 Farm to Market Rd Hybrid(CSG)2.3 MW · operating
77 Farm to Market Rd Hybrid(CSG)2.2 MW · operating
Cranberry Highway Solar LLC2 MW · operating
Syncarpha Halifax Hybrid CSG1.6 MW · operating
196 Tremont St(CSG)1.5 MW · operating
342 Circuit1 MW · operating
71 Charlotte Furnace Rd Hybrid(CSG)1 MW · operating
20 Bedford1 MW · operating
27 Charge Pond Road & 150 Tihonet Road Solar + BESS (AD Makepeace / Borrego Solar / New Leaf)Site plan approvals and special-permit extensions DENIED by Wareham Planning Board 2024-06-10; developer appealed to Plymouth County Land Court · AD Makepeace Company (applicant of record Borrego Solar Systems, later New Leaf Energy)
High Street Solar & Storage SystemPre-permitting; Planning Board and Conservation Commission review meetings scheduled for June 2026 · New Leaf Energy

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16 more project record(s)

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County-level battery-storage status, safety requirements, and projects — each linked to a primary source.

Town & municipal bylaws

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 provi2024-04-22

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1 more town bylaw record(s)

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Zoning bylaws of the 3 town(s) that hold siting and voting authority within this county — each linked to the primary document.

Community opposition P1

No organized opposition on record for this county yet — no petition, group, or oppositional coverage tracked. Absence of opposition is a positive siting signal.

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Researched for this county and available with a subscription:

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Energy-related meetings & dockets P1

4 energy-related70 total in calendar2 solar · 2 bess

Halo color = sentiment of the relevant agenda excerpt: green positive, yellow neutral, red negative.

2026-04-09 County Board
Solar
Plymouth County Solar Project update
agenda
2026-04-09 Other
Solar
Plymouth County discussed a proposal for a 270-kilowatt solar panel installation on three county buildings.
agenda
2024-02-26 Wareham Planning Board
Storage
Considered; not yet resolved at this session per agenda carry-forward
agenda

2024-01-08 Wareham Planning Board
Storage
Extension request considered; ultimately denied at a later 2024-06-10 session
agenda

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1 more energy-related meeting

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State PSC dockets P1

No tracked activity yet — coverage expands weekly.

Sentiment rollup P2

No sentiment rollup yet (requires meeting transcripts to be processed).

Local news P3

2026-05-23 2 A Does Proximity To Nuclear Power Plants Increase Cancer Risknuclear-news.net
2025-10-06 Duxbury Selectboard Confronts Controversial Residential Battery Storage Proposal as Community Demands ActionSouth Shore News
2025-09-19 Duxbury residents speak out over proposed 'battery farm' in residential neighborhoodBoston.com

2025-09-05 Duxbury Residents Voice Concerns Over Potential Battery Farm In AreaWBZ NewsRadio
2025-07-09 In a First, Land Court Rules that Standalone Battery Energy Storage Facilities Are Protected Like Solar Energy SystemsAnderson & Kreiger LLP (legal analysis)
2025-02-22 Right to build, right to deny: Solar developer lawsuits challenge Planning BoardWareham Week
2023-12-18 Updated: Planning board rejects Route 25 solar farmWareham Week
2023-10-11 Solar battery fires addressed by proposed regulationWareham Week
2023-04-20 Planning Board vetoes 0 Route 25 solar projectWareham Week

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6 more news items

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Data sources: public agendas/minutes from local government sites; PSC dockets from state regulators; news from GDELT and curated RSS; sentiment derived from public meeting transcripts. Last refreshed 2026-08-27. See the county risk scorecard or the full Massachusetts permitting index.