Bullard Field Could Grow Solar Farm

More than 10 acres of open space along Bullard Street could become the town’s first commercial-scale solar generation facility under a project being proposed by the a team that includes the property’s owner, the Bullard Memorial Farm Association.

Under the project, hundreds of solar panels would be erected on former farm property that is now mostly open fields and woods. A series of transformers would convert the power so it could sent onto the grid through power lines that would be upgraded along Bullard to Fiske St.

The Conservation Commission will review the project on Tuesday at 8 p.m. in Room 014 of Town Hall.

That review will focus on any impacts the project will have on wetlands resource areas, including the buffer area along a narrow slice of water known as Dirty Meadow Brook.

According to the application, trees would be cleared from the site and a low-growing clover planted.

Once vegetation is established, work on installing the panels would begin. Utility lines between the site and Fiske St. would be upgraded and several poles replaced to handle the power being sent from the field onto the power grid.

The application says the project will be surrounded by a six-foot high fence, and notes that a three-inch gap will be left at the bottom to enable small wildlife to pass through the property.

Along with the Bullard Farm, partners in the project include Syncarpha Solar LLC of New York and Renewable Energy Massachusetts LLC of Cambridge. Syncarpha’s past projects include a small-scale solar installation at the practice facility of the New York Jets of the National Football League.

Conservation Agent Charles Katuska said the hearing Tuesday night be just the beginning of the local review process. Because they plan to cut trees and do access work along a designed scenic road, the project will also receive a review by the Planning Board, he said. The building inspector will also review the project and could potentially identify zoning issues that require additional review, he added.

The application to the Conservation Commission will require additional information before that review can be finalized, Katuska said. “All I can for certain is that the hearing will open on Tuesday and there is no chance it will be closed in that same meeting,” he said.

Bullard’s trustees first presented the project to a group of neighbors earlier this month. Katuska said several neighbors have contacted him about the project and that he has emphasized that the Conservation Commission’s review is limited in scope.

The property is located across Bullard Street from the Holliston Sportsmen’s Association. Two open fields are separated by a row of trees, which will be among the vegetation cleared to make room for the solar panels.

The solar project could be just the first for Holliston. At least two other solar fields are being contemplated, Katuska said, though the Bullard Street facility is the first to be made public.

Gov. Deval Patrick has made increasing solar power generation capacity in the state a top goal, with a target of 250 megawatts of generating capacity by 2017.