June 14, 2022 | Dylan Corey dcorey@thereminder.com

Jake Marley uses a blueprint to explain the solar array project. Photo courtesy of Hadley Media

HADLEY – The Hadley Planning Board hosted a public hearing to review the application of Joe Czajkowski to construct a dual-use solar array of 1,116 solar panels on his farm while continuing to use the ground underneath for agricultural purposes.

Czajkowski was joined by Chris Chamberland, a civil engineer with Berkshire Design Group, and Jake Marley, manager of Hyperion Systems. The trio presented information and fielded questions on the plans and details of the project. The property is an existing farm field in North Hadley off Shattuck Road The farm was originally founded by Czajkowski’s father, John, and Joe now uses the land to grow organic and conventional fruits and vegetables servicing schools, universities, farms and grocers.

Chamberland said the project is situated to cover approximately two acres of land within the site and is set approximately 750 feet east of the road. Czajkowski said that based on continuing research, they will start by growing broccoli under the panels.

“Unusual for some of these arrays, the solar array itself is not proposed to be fenced,” Chamberland said. “That’s primarily for the purpose of allowing this to continue to be an active farm field and unfettered access for Joe and his equipment to get in here and continue working the land. That plan has been shared with the police department; they didn’t have any objection to that access.”

The panels being used are taller than a traditional panel. Chamberland said the panels average 10 feet tall and will rotate throughout the day to maximize efficiency, coming down to 7½ feet at the start and end of each day. This design will help Czajkowski’s workers and equipment easily access the land below the panels.

“In addition to Joe and I coordinating this, this is part of the Massachusetts solar program called the SMART [Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target] Program,” Marley said. “In order to qualify for the dual use, you have to go through a rigorous application and process with Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. They’ve set a standard for any single-access tracker, which is what this type of solar installation would be called. By using that type of single-access tracker versus a fixed tilt, we’ll be able to increase the amount of energy that’s produced on a smaller footprint.”

The SMART Program is a statewide solar initiative by the Department of Energy Resources to grant incentives to support the development of solar in Massachusetts. Marley said that the SMART Program’s estimated life of the solar field is 20 years, after which Czajkowski will have the option of agreeing to two five-year extensions.

Marley said there is yearly degradation within the panels that lead to losses of efficiency, but the panels will still produce. He added that there are currently 11-year-old panels installed that have not seen the level of loss that they anticipated.

“What we have proposed right now is JA Solar and they are based in China,” Marley said of the panels’ manufacturer. “Although there is heavy watching and scrutiny, I know there was a pause on some foreign modules over the past two years, I know that it’s scrutinized a bit at the federal level to make sure that the sourcing of materials is done in an appropriate way. We’re using modules that have been around and been proven successful and that meet our U.S. federal government standards for how they’re sourced and fabricated.”

Planning Board Clerk William Dwyer said he didn’t have the motion on his home computer to read for a vote, so the board unanimously voted to continue the topic in two weeks at the next meeting for an official decision.

“We will continue the hearing but basically, from what I can tell, you will be approved Mr. Czajkowski. We can’t officially do it until two weeks at our next meeting but you should be all set in two weeks,” Planning Board Chair Jim Maksimoski concluded.