Large Solar Array Under Construction Off Freeman’s Way

BREWSTER – A new solar farm is taking shape off Freeman’s Way that could provide enough electricity to power hundreds, maybe thousands of homes.

There are already three big solar projects off Freeman’s Way in the industrial zone — two at Captains Golf Course, with a 1,490 kilowatt array over the parking lot and 480 kilowatts at the driving range. The operator of that system paid Brewster $86,000 a year starting in 2021. The other is the privately built Solar Garden on two acres next to the water department. That 346 KW facility was constructed by My Generation Energy in 2011 as a community solar garden with residents able to buy “Sun Shares,” with each share equal to 28 panels worth of energy.

The newest solar project will dwarf all of the above. It is being constructed by Next Grid, Inc. of San Francisco on just over 10 acres of land behind the Brewster VFW.

Next Grid buys and leases land for solar developments, designs and constructs the project which, ideally, generates power for 20 to 40 years. In this case the land is owned by Steve Daniels of Orleans and Michael Antinarelli of Brewster, with Bennett Environmental Associates of Brewster handling the permitting. Dave Serber, director of land development for Next Grid, is overseeing the work.

The project received a special permit from the planning board in 2020 for the work in the industrial zone, which makes it a “by right” use. The project is a large-scale ground-mounted photovoltaic system that will contain over 7,000 395-watt modules on 230 full racks and 29 partial racks. Each rack can hold 14 modules. All told the array can produce 2.5 megawatts of electricity. The array system will be surrounded by a seven-foot high black steel fence. The area inside is about 8.3 acres and the panels will cover 5.86 acres. No pesticides or herbicides will be used for vegetation management.

Included in the project are inverters, DC converters, neutral grounding reactors, transformers and a data acquisition system. Excess energy can be stored in a battery system. Vegetation will screen the battery and the concrete pad with the inverters and other equipment. Electricity would be available to local communities at a discount through the SMART (Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target) program.

The project adjoins the Freeman’s Way bridge over Route 6 and is technically at 0 Route 6, but the entrance is from Freeman’s Way opposite the golf course’s secondary entrance. The developers assured the planning board there won’t be any traffic issues as there will be few visits to the property while it is in operation. There will be daily traffic during construction. The closest home is about 2,000 feet away. There are no photo arrays at the site yet, just bulldozers and other equipment grading and preparing the property.

The land has been used as a stump dump, disposal site for wood chips and organic debris as well as gravel mining since the 1940s. It was owned by Roland Mayo of Orleans, who subdivided it in 1970. In 2014 the state Department of Environmental Protection notified the owners that the stump dump was unpermitted and it has been under a cleanup order. It was officially closed as a landfill last year.

As part of the development, the town worked on a lease agreement for a 0.2 acre piece of land that is adjacent to the property. The water quality review committee will maintain four monitoring wells on the property. The stormwater system will be designed for a 100-year event.

The array will have a vegetated buffer along the highway to shield the eyes of drivers on Route 6.