Faith Community Goes Green

As Hopkinton works toward being more green, the Faith Community Church is doing it's part.

Bird Property Condos Could be Solar Powered

Developers are working with a solar company to integrate solar panels into their buildings' design.

More than 200 condominiums proposed for a plot of land off Marshall Street in Holliston could be powered almost entirely by solar panels on roofs and on ground fixtures, according to Michael Norton, the site's proposed developer.  Norton said a 2.5-megawatt solar system could generate 80 to 110 percent of the energy the site's residents will use.  "We're making it for the purpose of making a green and environmentally secure system to the benefit of the whole town," Norton said.  Holliston resident Godard van Beekhoff, the CEO of renewable energy development company Transatlantic Renewables, is working with Norton's firm, Green View Realty, to incorporate solar panels into the proposed buildings' design.  "It won't be some horrible sight, …

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Marijuana Fine, Solar Farms Among Items for Tonight's Town Meeting

Holliston residents will vote on a series of proposed bylaws and budget items at town meeting tonight.

A fine for marijuana users and a bylaw to regulate commercial solar projects are among the articles Holliston residents will vote on at tonight's town meeting.  The annual gathering of Holliston residents to vote on town bylaws, budget items and regulations begins at 7:30 p.m. tonight at the Holliston High School auditorium.  A bylaw proposed by Police Chief John Moore could mean an additional $300 fine for those found smoking marijuana in public areas. It is listed as article 29 in the meeting's warrant.  "We hope, based on a high civil fine, people will think twice about smoking in a public place," Moore said.  Proposed by the Holliston Planning Board, article 34 on tonight's agenda is a bylaw that would regulate for-profit solar …

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Solar Regulation Supported by Former Bullard Plant Opposition

Residents will vote on Article 34, which regulates solar farms in Holliston, during town meeting on May 7.

Concerned Holliston residents are hoping to raise support for a bylaw that would regulate large-scale solar farms in residential areas before town meeting on May 7.  Organizers are aiming to avoid battles similar to the recent 5-month struggle at public hearings in front of the Planning Board that blocked a 7,500-panel solar farm from being built on Bullard Street. Using email lists, social media and relying on word of mouth, the former members of the group that opposed the Bullard Street project are now focusing their efforts on possible future solar proposals.  "We would be able to regulate these projects and close the loophole that we face under Massachusetts General Law," Sandra O'Neil, a supporter of the bylaw said.  Article 34, which…

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Bullard Solar Farm Officially Dead After Planning Board Vote

A solar energy facility proposed for Bullard Street was formally denied by the Planning Board last night.

A 2-megawatt solar energy facility proposed for Bullard Street was formally denied by Holliston's Planning Board last night.  The board cited public health concerns, decreased property values and damage to the area's aesthetics that could come from the proposed 7,500 solar panels on the Bullard Memorial Farm site.  "I don't think it belongs there, frankly" Parashar Patel, Vice Chairman of the Planning Board said during the meeting.  Representitives from developer Renewable Energy Massachusetts said they are still deciding if they will appeal the board's decision in court.  "We hope they don't appeal," Tom Gilbert a Holliston resident. "We think its not to their benefit and its obviously not to our benefit. We don't want to see this carried…

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Bullard Solar Denial to Become Official Today

Residents are hoping to pass a bylaw that that will prohibit similar solar projects in residential areas.

After a 4-month battle between local residents and solar developer Renewable Energy Massachusetts, the Planning Board is set to announce a formal denial of a proposed solar project on Bullard Street today.   A public hearing in front of Holliston's Planning board pitted the solar developer against droves of Holliston residents, who came to oppose the project on grounds including health and aesthetics.  Hearing testimony from locals on how the plant would affect residents' daily lives, the Planning Board voted unanimously against the project last week.  Today, the Planning Board will present its formal denial of the project, citing the impact to the health, safety and welfare of the area's residents.  Members of Stop Bullard Farm Solar …

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Residents Win Battle Against Bullard Farm Solar Plant

A solar panel facility, proposed for the Bullard Street farmland, was voted down by Holliston's Planning Board.

Holliston's Planning Board voted unanimously Thursday night against installing a solar energy plant on Bullard Street amid a fervor of public opposition to the proposed facility. With possible risks to the health of area residents due to factors including toxic chemicals in the panels and the output of electromagnetic frequency, board members voted 5-0 to have the town's lawyers draft a denial of the project.  Stop Bullard Farm Power Plant, a group started on the web by concerned residents, brought organized opposition against building a facility in the residential Bullard Street neighborhood. Tom Gilbert, an organizer of the Stop Bullard movement, said his past several months of researching solar panels and attending the group's meetings …

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Rachel Kagno

8:52 am on Friday, March 23, 2012

Great news for Holliston!   more ›

Letter: Bullard Solar Zoning Would Harm Residents

Sandra O'Neil, a Holliston resident opposed to a proposed solar project on Bullard Street, sounds off against the zoning laws that could make it possible to construct.

Living in a residential neighborhood used to mean that you might have to deal with a new home on an empty lot, a development, or new septic systems or your neighbor’s new shed or porch. This is all changing. Now, because of the status Massachusetts Law 40A Section 3, solar exemption, residents are arguably no longer protected by the zoning we have counted on to protect us since 1926. There are several local communities currently struggling with solar developers who wish to push large scale ground-mounted solar facilities into residential neighborhoods. Holliston is not alone, it’s happening in Lunenburg, Carver, Amesbury and Belchertown to name a few. The push for green energy has translated into developers trying to take massive green …

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Board Discusses Legality of Bullard Farm Solar Plant

A solar energy facility proposed for Bullard Street in Holliston was the subject of debate at Thursday's Planning Board meeting.

The question on the minds of many Bullard Street area residents concerned with a proposed solar energy facility has been a simple one: "How can they put an industrial facility in our residential area?" On Thursday, Holliston's Planning Board discussed just that.  Attorneys hired by the town of Holliston and by solar developer Renewable Energy Massachusetts traded arguments on the interpretation of laws governing solar energy installations, and if building one on Bullard Street is legal.  Robert Orsi, an attorney for Renewable Energy Massachusetts, cited in his argument a state law which makes any unreasonable regulation of solar arrays illegal. Mark Bobrowski, Holliston's attorney, pointed out direct conflicts in state and town ordinances…

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Patch Facts

5 Things You Need to Know Today: Jan. 19

Hearings on the Bullard Farm solar plant continue tonight during a Planning Board meeting.

1. The Planning Board will have a second hearing tonight on the proposed Bullard Farm solar plant at 7 p.m. in room 105 of the Town Hall.  2. HHS students looking to practice for the SATs can take a practice exam for free at Holliston High School today at 5:30 p.m.  3. Jazz musicians, head to Holliston School for The Performing Arts for a Jazz Combo class at 7 p.m.  4. Yesterday we answered questions about the Bullard farm solar plant in an article that has created some debate in the comments section. What do you you think?  5. Here comes some more snow. The forecast predicts snow starting at 7 p.m. and continuing on throughout the night. 

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