Wenham Planning Board Continues Iron Rail Solar Hearing to August 12

Planning Board · Meeting of July 8, 2026

Wenham Planning Board continues Iron Rail solar hearing, endorses Greenbelt land plan. The board voted unanimously at its July 8 meeting to continue a public hearing on a Select Energy petition for site plan approval of a large-scale ground-mounted solar array at 91 Grapevine Road to August 12, after members said the application remained incomplete without a final interconnection services agreement from National Grid and without a resolved decommissioning bond structure. Stuart Clark and John DeModica of Select Energy presented an updated interconnection design routing underground conduit directly to the Department of Public Works building rather than to a street-side connection, but DeModica acknowledged National Grid's final ISA had not been issued despite a July 7 target.

Chair Ann B. Weeks said the board would not treat the town differently than any other applicant: "We would, in this kind of situation, want a complete application before we voted on it." The board also voted unanimously to endorse an approval-not-required plan for 7 to 9 Maple Street on behalf of the Essex County Greenbelt Association, incorporating an emergency access driveway and water line easement required as conditions of a special permit granted in May.

In the full story:

• Background and stakes
• The question before the body
• Substantive content
• The deliberation
• Procedural steps and outcome
• Implications and what is next
• The complete report, 2,415 words

Source: the Planning Board meeting of July 8, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.