Acushnet Conservation Commission Approves Solar Project Extension, Nine Conditions

ACUSHNET — January 29, 2026 — Acushnet's Conservation Commission approved a two-year extension and amended order of conditions for a nearly 5-megawatt solar project off Park Drive, and voted to appoint its conservation agent as the town's stormwater agent. The commission approved both actions for the Sankapa Park Drive LLC solar array — a 4,999-kilowatt photovoltaic and battery storage project with a wetland bridge crossing filed under SE001-0553 — by a 4-1 tally with one abstention each, after the chair told engineers from the project team that it was "your burden" to have flagged the lapsed extension throughout the amendment process. Abutter Heidi Espinola of 29 Park Drive told the board the project had already received a COVID extension and a state agency extension and expressed doubt the work could be finished in two years. Nine special conditions attached to the amended order require a clerk of the works for all construction in the 100-foot buffer zone, double spill kits near wetlands, weekly photographic reports, and prohibition on machinery left on the crossing bridge overnight. Separately, the commission voted unanimously to appoint its conservation agent as the town's official stormwater agent, a role the chair said all prior agents had held, pending formal acknowledgment by the Select Board.