Whately Planning Board Opens Hearing on 20-Acre Boyden Farm Solar Proposal

Planning Board · Meeting of May 5, 2026

Whately Planning Board opens public hearing on a proposed 4.99-megawatt dual-use solar farm on Boyden Farm land along Route 116. Board Chairman George Forcier convened the session as engineers from Weston and Sampson — hired by applicant Blue Wave Solar, operating as Roaring Brook Solar LLC — presented plans for a roughly 20-acre single-axis tracker array to be mounted 10 feet above ground with cattle grazing and haying planned beneath the panels. Blue Wave representatives were absent, drawing pointed criticism from several residents; a fire protection engineer is expected at the May 19 continuation.

Selectperson and school committee member Elaine Campbell warned that the array's proximity to the grammar school could hurt school-choice enrollment, which she called essential to the school's financial survival. Resident Devlin Feldman and abutter Jerry LeBlanc described years of noise, dirty electricity, and enforcement failures at a nearby solar installation, with LeBlanc urging the board to build "teeth" into any permit conditions. The board recessed the hearing to May 19.

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Source: the Planning Board meeting of May 5, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.