North Brookfield, MA Solar Project: 2018

As solar energy expands, solar companies seek locations for large projects. We were called on when a solar company sought to install a PV solar array in a sand pit adjacent to an active Bank Swallow colony. The owner of the sand pit had been accommodating the swallows for years by excavating the sand pit to create vertical nesting banks. The local Conservation Commission was concerned about the future of the colony when the solar company proposed building an array in the sand pit. We drew up a management plan that allowed enough space in front of the Bank Swallow colony to provide a buffer between it and the solar array, and to allow access of machinery to continue to excavate the banks to maintain them for the Bank Swallows. We also requested the solar company access road be placed at the end of the bank with the least swallow activity. We will continue to monitor the site.