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Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) Office
Environmental Notification Form For Office Use Only EEA#: MEPA Analyst: The information requested on this form must be completed in order to submit a document electronically for review under the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act, 301 CMR 11.00. Project Name: Stony Brook Solar Project Street Address: 327 Moody Street Municipality : Ludlow Watershed: Chicopee River Universal Transverse Mercator Coordinates : Zone 18T Easting: 705908.08; Northing:
Latitude : 42. Longitude : -72. Estimated commencement date: 10/1/2021 Estimated completion date: 5/31/ Project Type: Photovoltaic Solar Generation Status of project design: 5% complete Proponent: Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC) Street Address: 327 Moody Street Municipality : Ludlow State : MA Zip Code: 01056 Name of Contact Person: Jason Viadero Firm/Agency: MMWEC Street Address: 327 Moody Street Municipality : Ludlow State: MA Zip Code: 01056 Phone : 413-386-4761, 413-308-1315 Fax : N/A E-mail: [email protected] Does this project meet or exceed a mandatory EIR threshold (see 301 CMR 11.03)? Yes No If this is an Expanded Environmental Notification Form (ENF) (see 301 CMR 11.05(7)) or a Notice of Project Change (NPC), are you requesting: Not applicable a Single EIR? (see 301 CMR 11.06(8)) Yes No a Special Review Procedure? (see 301CMR 11.09) Yes No a Waiver of mandatory EIR? (see 301 CMR 11.11) Yes No a Phase I Waiver? (see 301 CMR 11.11) Yes No (Note: Greenhouse Gas Emissions analysis must be included in the Expanded ENF.) Which MEPA review threshold(s) does the project meet or exceed (see 301 CMR 11.03)? 310 CMR 11.03 1(b)(1) Direct alteration of more than 25 acres of land not associated with a forest management plan Which State Agency Permits will the project require? The Project is proposed by MMWEC, which may be an Agency as defined by MEPA. Identify any financial assistance or land transfer from an Agency of the Commonwealth, including the Agency name and the amount of funding or land area in acres: Not applicable
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) Office
Summary of Project Size
& Environmental Impacts
Existing Change Total
LAND
Total site acreage 285 New acres of land altered 39. Acres of impervious area 0. Square feet of new bordering vegetated wetlands alteration
Square feet of new other wetland alteration
Acres of new non-water dependent use of tidelands or waterways
STRUCTURES
Gross square footage 0 595, Number of housing units 0 0 0 Maximum height (feet) 7
TRANSPORTATION
Vehicle trips per day 0 <1 < Parking spaces 0 0 0
WASTEWATER
Water Use (Gallons per day) 0 0 0 Water withdrawal (GPD) 0 0 0 Wastewater generation/treatment (GPD)
Length of water mains (miles) 0 0 0 Length of sewer mains (miles) 0 0 0 Has this project been filed with MEPA before? Yes (EEA # ) No Has any project on this site been filed with MEPA before? Yes (EEA # 2475, 2760, 13889, 3931, 3700, 3001, 1 1022 ) No
GENERAL PROJECT INFORMATION – all proponents must fill out this section
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Describe the existing conditions and land uses on the project site: The Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC) Stony Brook Solar Project (the Project) will be situated on approximately 39.5 acres (Project Site) located within the existing 285 acre MMWEC Ludlow Campus (the “Property”) which is home to MMWEC’s administrative offices and the Stony Brook Energy Center, a 354MW Intermediate Unit and a 172MW Peaking Unit owned and operated by MMWEC. The project site shall be the area directly disturbed for the construction of the proposed solar facility. We are not including any additional areas of the property outside of the
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) Office
supporting inverters and transformers as well as slabs for collector boxes, no impermeable surfaces shall be created on the Site. Access and egress will be through existing roadways or crushed stone access drive. As part of the Project a nominal area of 39.5 acres within the perimeter of the limit of disturbance shall be cleared of existing growth which is scrub and mixed hardwoods and softwoods. Following clearing and construction of the Project the disturbed site shall be reseeded with native grasses and mowed periodically to discourage the growth of species that might otherwise shade or interfere with solar generation. The Project has been carefully designed to avoid impacts to wetlands and waterbodies. During construction, area along the east side of Alabama Street will be utilized for project staging. This area is currently paved or mowed grass. Following construction, any areas of disturbed grass shall be restored to prior conditions NOTE: The project description should summarize both the project’s direct and indirect impacts (including construction period impacts) in terms of their magnitude, geographic extent, duration and frequency, and reversibility, as applicable. It should also discuss the infrastructure requirements of the project and the capacity of the municipal and/or regional infrastructure to sustain these requirements into the future. Describe the on-site project alternatives (and alternative off-site locations, if applicable), considered by the proponent, including at least one feasible alternative that is allowed under current zoning, and the reasons(s) that they were not selected as the preferred alternative: The purpose of the Project is to respond to an acknowledged need for non-carbon emitting generation by MMWEC member cities and towns having their own utility systems. As the Commonwealth transitions towards Net Zero by 2050, additional non-carbon generation will be needed. While the power supply of many MMWEC members is more than 50% carbon neutral and other members continue to build carbon free generation within their service territories, some MMWEC member utilities with limited available open space are unable to construct generation within their service territories to provide carbon free energy to their customers. This Project seeks to enable increased carbon free energy for these members while leveraging the benefits of construction on a site with available infrastructure for power generation. In selecting the location of the proposed Project, MMWEC determined that due to the proposed size of the Project (in excess of 5MW), larger tracts of land and co-location with an existing electric power facility and substation would be required. Due to general system sizing and the increased penetration of distributed solar in the Commonwealth in the past 5 years, most distribution level circuits would be incapable of handling the proposed 6.9MW of solar generation, without extensive overhaul and upgrades taking increased time and dollars to achieve. As such, any construction not co-located with an existing electric facility or higher voltage substations would require additional construction activities such as re-conducting circuits or constructing dedicated circuits that would drive up costs to member cities and towns and increase disturbance to the environment. Technologies Considered In seeking to provide MMWEC members with non-carbon emitting energy generation, MMWEC considered alternate technologies meeting MA Class I RPS standards including wind, biomass, hydro and anaerobic digestion. Based on that consideration, MMWEC determined that due to the specific atmospheric needs for the development of wind and hydro, as well as location specific needs and permitting requirements for biomass and anaerobic digestion, solar represented the technology set
