image description — The town would have to determine which circuit to tie into if it moves forward with a photovoltaic array. This shows the 18C BERKSHIRE circuit.

Dalton Green Committee Aims to Obtain Data for Town Solar PV Arrays

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:29PM / Saturday, March 30, 2024Print Story | Email Story

DALTON, MASS. — The Green Committee is working to obtain information from Eversource to inform the possibility of developing solar polar photovoltaic arrays in town.

The committee approved using $250 during its meeting last week for a pre-application to Eversource. This application will provide data that will inform how to develop a solar PV array in town.

The efforts to develop PV arrays is supported by the state Department of Energy Resources' Green Communities initiative and has been part of the town's master plan since 2016.

One of the master plan's goals in the infrastructure section is to improve the town's energy efficiency.

To minimize the tax impact of this goal, one of the objectives is to "support the development of solar farms on town property to reduce the cost of electricity for the town."

Upon submitting a pre-application, Eversource is required to send back a range of data within 10 business days otherwise it's free.

The town needs to determine how much it can load the two circuits available. There are two lines that come into Dalton — 18C BERKSHIRE and 19A DOREEN.

According to a Eversource representative, the company cannot provide that information without submitting the pre-application.

Eversource's DC Hosting Capacity map does not have all the information needed to inform future projects and is inaccurate because it represents people who submitted applications but may not have a live PV array, Green Committee member Todd Logan said later.

The Green Committee will use the Senior Center as a mock location for a 375-kilowatt solar array in its pre-application because the two circuits border the center. The 18C BERKSHIRE circuit is located on High Street and 19A DOREEN on Glennon Avenue. Dalton would have to determine which circuit to connect to.

Since the Green Committee is not proposing building a solar array on the land in front of the Senior Center, this gives the town "the opportunity to figure out which circuit would be best suited for an income generating and power generating PV array," Logan said.

The pre-application will provide data, including the substation transformer rating, the substation's circuit voltage and name, the phase available near the site, and the distance from the phase service if it's a single phase.

It also includes standards for the interconnection of distributed generation, including information on aggregate connected facilities that have not yet been interconnected, the interconnecting customer's network types and nearby feeders, and potential system constraints that may impact the proposed facility, among other things.

Tags: green committee, photovoltaic, solar array,

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Possible Measles Exposure at Boston, Logan

12:05PM / Wednesday, December 24, 2025

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Public Health confirmed Wednesday that an out-of-state adult visitor who spent time in Boston and Westborough earlier this month was diagnosed with measles and was present in a number of locations.

This could have resulted in other people being exposed to measles virus.

The visitor arrived at Logan International Airport on American Airlines flight 2384 from Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, on Dec. 11 at 2:39 p.m. They stayed at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Boston-Westborough in Westborough and departed the state on Dec. 12 via Logan at 9:19 p.m. on JetBlue flight 117 to Las Vegas.

DPH is working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local partners to identify and notify those who may have been exposed to measles from this individual.

"Measles is a highly contagious, airborne disease, which has increased significantly in the United States because of the unfortunate decrease in vaccination rates. It is also a preventable disease," said Public Health Commissioner Dr. Robbie Goldstein. "This current situation serves as an important reminder of the critical role vaccination plays in protecting our communities. While Massachusetts has not had a measles case this year, 2025 saw the highest number of nationwide cases in more than a decade — nearly 2,000 in 44 jurisdictions, and sadly, three deaths.

"Fifteen years ago, measles had been considered eliminated in the United States, but that tremendous progress is at risk. Vaccines are one of the most important public health interventions ever — they are safe, effective, and lifesaving."

Measles is very contagious. However, the risk to most people in Massachusetts is low because the vaccination rate in the state is high. People who are not immune and visited any of the locations on the following dates and times may be at risk for developing measles.

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