Project Document
Second Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) Meeting
Official Meeting Minutes — August 4, 2026
Published: August 4, 2026
Meeting Overview
| Detail | Description |
|---|---|
| Date & Time | August 4, 2026 — 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM |
| Location | Virtual (Zoom) |
| Hosted By | ESA Solar project team |
| Format | Full-group discussion followed by two breakout groups |
| Community Attendees | About 20 residents, including members of the Charlton Planning Board and the Senior Center Feasibility Committee |
1. Background & Purpose
ESA Solar held the second meeting of the Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) for the Carpenter Hill Power project, a proposed 150 MW / 600 MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) at 131 Carpenter Hill Road, Charlton, Massachusetts.
The CAC remains a voluntary advisory body, beyond what the state's pre-filing rules under 980 CMR 16.00 require. Participation on the committee does not imply support for or endorsement of the project.
The meeting ran as a full-group discussion followed by two breakout groups, and covered engagement progress since the June and July meetings, private well and groundwater protection, fire department readiness, long-term financial accountability, and priorities for the Community Benefits Plan.
2. Committee Role and Public Notice
- How much say residents have: Participants asked how much real influence this process gives the public, and whether the committee is a substantive part of shaping the project or a formality. ESA Solar confirmed that the committee and the additional public meetings beyond what the state requires are voluntary engagement, and pointed to the reduction in the proposed layout from 156 units to 136 as a direct result of earlier public feedback.
- The late July mailer: Residents raised the late mailer for the July 8 public meeting as evidence that notice needs to improve. ESA Solar acknowledged the error, took responsibility for it, and committed to mailing notice at least one month ahead of the next public meeting, through multiple channels.
3. Private Well and Groundwater Protection
- Well testing: Residents asked for baseline and ongoing private well testing, and a clear answer on who pays and how quickly if a well is affected.
- Site groundwater and soil conditions: Residents asked how groundwater and soil on the site will be protected during construction and operation. ESA Solar disclosed that parts of the parcel have groundwater close to the surface, and described planned containment measures, including liners and stormwater systems. The final engineering sets the details.
- Firefighting water containment: ESA Solar confirmed that firefighting water will be captured on an impermeable surface so it cannot reach groundwater, with runoff also captured along the site's southern boundary.
- MassDEP meeting: A meeting with MassDEP on groundwater, well locations, stormwater, and erosion control is scheduled for the end of August. ESA Solar committed to a written report after that meeting.
4. Fire Department Readiness and Emergency Response
- Charlton Fire Department capacity: Residents raised questions about the staffing, equipment, and training Charlton Fire needs to respond to the facility, and about backup power for cooling and fire suppression during a grid outage.
- Emergency Action Plan: ESA Solar reported that the Emergency Action Plan is being built jointly with the Charlton Fire Department. The town will select an independent third-party reviewer, paid for by ESA Solar, to review the plan at no cost to the town.
- Fire safety webinar: ESA Solar confirmed the public fire safety webinar for August 19, covering equipment, training, backup power, and site safety across two sessions.
- How a battery fire is handled: ESA Solar described the standard industry response to a battery fire as defensive: disconnect the affected equipment electrically, protect the surrounding area, and monitor air quality, rather than sending firefighters directly into a damaged unit.
- Safety plume modeling: ESA Solar confirmed that the safety plume modeling it has already committed to publish will be completed before the Community Benefits Plan is finalized.
5. Long-Term Financial Accountability
- Bonds, insurance, and replacement funding: Residents asked for long-term financial protection, including bonds, insurance, and funding for equipment replacement and eventual decommissioning.
- Binding commitments: Residents said they would prefer a legally binding agreement over a non-binding plan, and asked what happens to commitments if the project is sold. ESA Solar explained that whether items from the Community Benefits Plan move into a signed agreement is a decision for the town and the project to make together, with review by the Town Administrator and town counsel, and that permit conditions, agreement terms, and the decommissioning bond run with the project to any future owner.
- Comparable agreements: Residents asked to see agreements and operating data from comparable battery storage projects in other communities. ESA Solar added a comparable host-community PILOT agreement, from the Town of Carver, to the public Document Library, joining the Medway, Tewksbury, Revere, and Chelsea agreements already posted there.
6. Community Benefits Plan Priorities
- Ideas raised: Committee members raised a senior and community center, land conservation, habitat diversity, historic preservation of town-owned sites, and accessible recreation space, including a fully accessible park and playground, as priorities for the plan.
- A worked example: ESA Solar walked through support for a senior and community center as a working example of how a committee priority becomes a specific, funded, and enforceable item, using the same five questions applied to every commitment: what changes and for whom, how anyone checks, when and for how long, who decides how it is used, and what happens if it slips.
- Breakout groups: The full group built one commitment card together, then split into breakout groups to work through the same five questions for other priorities. Notes from the breakout groups feed the draft plan alongside the main-room discussion.
- Funding and enforcement for every item: ESA Solar confirmed that every item in the draft Community Benefits Plan will state its funding source and enforcement method, with the draft published this fall for public comment.
7. Action Items & Next Steps
The project team committed to the following next steps:
- Mail notice at least one month ahead of the next public meeting, through multiple channels.
- Publish a written report after the end-of-August MassDEP meeting on groundwater, well locations, stormwater, and erosion control.
- Continue building the Emergency Action Plan with Charlton Fire, and have it reviewed by an independent third party the town selects, at ESA Solar's expense.
- Hold the fire safety webinar on August 19, in two sessions.
- Publish the draft Community Benefits Plan this fall, with a funding source and enforcement method stated for every item, and respond to every public comment.
- Publish the committee roster and membership charter before the third Citizen Advisory Committee meeting.
- Hold the third Citizen Advisory Committee meeting on September 9, focused on the Community Benefits Plan.