Falmouth Solar Farm Meeting December 23, 2025

Falmouth Country Club is the site of a potential installation of three large-scale solar farms, each comprising approximately 15,000 solar panels. The total project is 45,000 panels. There is a lack of clarity regarding the number of sets of batteries, transformers, and inverters required.

The power is rated at over 13 megawatts, encompassing 82 acres.

Questions at past meetings: What containment will be used for the batteries, transformers, and inverters? In 2024, around 135 lithium-ion battery fires were reported in Massachusetts.

Solar panel fires are considered rare, but not in Falmouth. On April 8, 2023, a solar panel fire occurred on a roof at Ambleside Drive. The fire was blamed on a squirrel, and the smoke is considered toxic. Reported by CapeCod.com

The Falmouth Fire Department has not commented at the past solar planning board meetings.

The town relies on the Cape Cod aquifer, specifically the Sagamore Lens, for its drinking water, a sole-source aquifer naturally filtered by sand, but faces threats. The Cape Cod aquifer is crucial because it's the sole source of drinking water for the entire peninsula.

Currently, there is no noise study for the project. Inverters can create audible hums and low-frequency infrasound from electrical conversion. High-powered solar systems at night and during periods of high heat are a cause for concern.

# Note: The two town-owned wind turbines went through ten years of litigation over noise. The town had been notified before the installation that the turbines generate 110 decibels of noise each. Turbines were removed in 2022.

In 2014, Edgartown neighbors in the Smith Hollow area reported noise issues from solar inverters and transformers, described as humming or high-pitched tones, due to poor placement near homes.
The Smith Hollow project is less than a megawatt, around 2 acres, and 2040 solar panels. The Falmouth solar project is almost ten times the size of the Smith Hollow project.

1. NEPA National Environmental Policy Act

For solar projects involving federal land or "funding," the EPA reviews Environmental Assessments (EA) to determine if a project will have a significant impact on local ecosystems.

Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) are tied to federal incentives and programs, acting as a mechanism to quantify renewable energy for compliance with federal goals (Inflation Reduction Act—IRA) and enabling significant federal tax credits (like the ITC/PTC) for clean energy projects.

2. MEPA, Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act

The Falmouth Country Club solar project did not trigger a full review threshold because it is on already disturbed land. It involves significant land disturbance and requires state permits for water wells.

The Falmouth Planning Board meeting is on Tuesday, December 23, 2025, at 6:30 PM.

Meeting: Select Board Room