Wareham – 0 Maple Springs Road: Destructive Industrial Solar Proposal Denied by ZBA

Spring 2025:

Makepeace and Fletcher applied to the Wareham Zoning Board of Appeals to install a 12.5 MW ground-mounted solar array on 40 acres of open space amidst wetland bogs north of Route 25. There will be a total of 40 acres of trees cleared if the project is built.

You can find the application materials here.

On April 2, 2025, the Wareham Conservation Commission failed to give the project the Order of Conditions it needed to perform work within protected and regulated resource areas on the site. Six out of the seven conservation members abstained from voting on the project, thereby denying the permit. You can watch the vote here. The applicant now has to apply to the MassDEP for a superseding permit.

Then, on June 11, 2025, the Wareham Zoning Board of Appeals denied the application for special permit and site plan review, citing many reasons why the project was inappropriate for the siting location, and threatened the health, safety and welfare of Wareham residents. You can watch the decision here.

During both the Conservation Commission hearings and the Zoning Board of Appeals hearings the pubic spoke informatively and passionately about why this project was inappropriately sited, and the many threats to drinking water, the environment, and public health from the project. You can watch the May 28, 2025 ZBA hearing here, where residents testify about the importance of protecting our natural resources and drinking water from industrial development.

You can download our fact sheet on the project here:

Fact Sheet – 0 Maple Springs Proposed Large Ground Mounted Solar Array.

Next Steps: The applicant will likely appeal the ZBA’s decision. Please continue to stay involved in supporting Wareham residents’ ongoing advocacy for appropriate solar siting in their town.

This aerial map, prepared by Beals & Thomas, shows the location of the solar project, and the 40 acres of open space it will raze, outlined in yellow:

The map below shows the environmental impacts of the project:

PROJECT SIZE:

• 12.5 Megawatt DC ground-mounted solar energy system
• 3 separate solar arrays with one Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)
• 33.5 acres of solar arrays; a total of 38.6 acres of deforestation and land disturbance

PROJECT DETAILS:

• Requires Order of Conditions from Conservation Commission (not approved)
• Requires Superseding Order of Conditions from MassDEP (in process)
• Requires Zoning Variance from Zoning Board of Appeals (not approved)
• Requires Site Plan and Special Permit approval from Zoning Board of Appeals (not approved)

PROJECT IMPACT:

• Project would require almost 40 acres of deforestation
• The 40 acres of deforestation is located:
  • Within the globally rare Southeastern Massachusetts Pine Barrens ecosystem;
  • On top of the Plymouth-Carver Sole Source Aquifer, the only source of drinking water for 200,000 residents of Southeastern Massachusetts
  • Only 550 feet away from the Zone II Wellhead Protection Area for a Wareham Fire District public drinking water supply well
  • Adjacent to area mapped by the State as Core Habitat
  • Only 850 feet from an area mapped by the State as Critical Natural Landscape
  • Only 5,700 feet from MassWildlife’s Maple Springs Wildlife Management Area
• The site provides critical wildlife habitat, connectivity and wildlife corridors at a time when open space conservation is more important than ever. Forests are needed to combat Wareham’s established threats from climate change, including extreme heat, tropical storm surges and coastal flooding, and slow the trend of a state-wide decrease in biodiversity.

We need both our forests and solar energy to combat the effects of climate change. Solar can be sited in a way that does not destroy the natural environment. Read Mass Audubon and Harvard Forest’s 2023 report, Growing Solar, Protecting Nature, on how we can grow our renewable energy portfolio in Massachusetts while preserving our most critical landscapes.

Join our new coalition, Responsible Solar Massachusetts, and sign up for our Google group, to join a large contingent of individuals across the entire Commonwealth who are advocating for responsible solar siting.