SHUTESBURY — Following the recent dismissal of a Land Court lawsuit challenging the town’s bylaws for siting of large-scale solar installations, PureSky Energy is confirming that five clean energy projects proposed for about 190 acres of Shutesbury woodland are being paused.
While the company announced in a statement last week that it remains committed to supporting the state’s clean energy initiatives through both solar and battery storage projects, broader policy and regulatory headwinds are cited as ongoing challenges.
Specifically, the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target, or SMART program, the state’s primary incentive mechanism supporting the buildout of solar across the state, has a declining rate model that has not been keeping pace with rising costs for land, interconnection and equipment. That issue is coupled with federal policy updates making it harder to finance projects like those proposed in Shutesbury.
“There are very few areas in the commonwealth that are feasible to reach its clean energy goals,” said Derek Moretz, vice president of development of PureSky Energy. “We respect the town’s conservation goals, but it is clear that systemic reforms are needed for Massachusetts to source its own energy.”
The project was first announced in 2021, with the possibility of bringing 45 megawatts of power, enough to power 5,000 households, from five parcels owned by W.D. Cowls Inc. Those were three parcels on Pratt Corner Road, one on Leverett Road and one on Montague Road.
A representative for the company, then known as Amp Solar Development of Ontario, Canada, before being taken over by PureSky Energy, suggested that it would be the biggest solar development in the state, and under a municipal partnership model would provide $450,000 to the town in the first year through a payment in lieu of taxes.
But two years later, the developer and landowner took the town to Land Court, arguing that the town’s bylaws were overly restrictive. Those bylaws had been adopted in May 2008 and amended in June 2021.
PureSky Energy indicates it is now refocusing its resources toward communities across the state that are eager to support renewable energy infrastructure and share in what it calls “the benefits of clean, reliable and affordable power.”