Blandford Energy Committee Targets Noise, Bonding, Insurance Rules for Solar and Battery Projects

BLANDFORD — October 16, 2025 — Blandford Energy Committee spends two hours brainstorming bylaw changes to regulate solar farms and battery storage projects. The committee, chaired by a member identified as Jackie, held a wide-ranging working session on October 16 and identified noise ordinances, liability insurance mandates, decommissioning escrow requirements, zoning overlays, and mandatory operator reporting as priority areas for a planned bylaw overhaul. Members, operating under legal counsel's direction to focus on local bylaws rather than state-level opposition, cited an approximately six-month moratorium window as their drafting deadline. A draft letter to Springfield Water and Sewer Commission Executive Director Joshua Schmill — asking the Commission to evaluate risks to the Cobble Mountain Reservoir from the proposed Mission battery energy storage project on North Blandford Road — was reviewed and will go to the Select Board for approval before being sent, with copies planned for the mayors and Select Board chairs of the more than 250,000-person Cobble Mountain service area. The committee identified a critical compliance gap: once solar projects receive certificates of compliance, the town has no ongoing contact with operators and no mechanism to verify that permit conditions are being met. The committee will reconvene October 29.