Barnstable Planning Board Delays Solar Zoning Vote, Seeks Battery Storage Guidance

BARNSTABLE -- February 28, 2022, Barnstable Planning Board continues solar zoning amendment, cites unresolved battery storage questions. The board voted unanimously at its February 28 remote meeting to push Town Council Item 2022-034, a proposed zoning amendment governing large-scale solar arrays and battery storage, to its March 14 session, pending a cost and scope proposal from an engineering firm that has been helping the nearby Town of Medway write similar rules. Planning Director Elizabeth Jenkins said the town would need a special appropriation to hire outside consultants, as no private applicant exists to absorb the cost. Chair Stephen Robichaud argued against allowing battery storage in residential zones, noting that only four of approximately 20 to 25 Cape Cod Commission-reviewed solar projects over roughly the past decade included battery storage. Member Tim O'Neill raised the possibility of advancing the solar ordinance to Town Council without waiting for the battery storage research, which staff estimated could take three to six months. The board separately endorsed an approval-not-required lot division at 250 Windswept Way, Oyster Harbors, for the Holy and Family Realty Trust.