Adams Solar Project on Track for Spring Start

ADAMS, Mass. — Solar panels should be sprouting this spring at the old landfill on East Road.

Work on the delayed 1.1 megawatt project is expected to start by March 1, if the weather and permitting process cooperate.

"The process has taken a little longer than we all would have liked, but it's full speed ahead at this point," Sharon Barr, senior developer and project counsel for TectaSolar, told the Planning Board on Monday, thanking the town for its patience as the solar developer got its financing package completed.

The delay allowed the design of the $5 million project to be refined, she said. "We think it's a better design ... It doesn't change our obligations under the power purchase agreement."

The changes included a different framework for the panels that seats them lower and closer together. It also mixes 300-watt panels in with the planned 280-watt ones.

The most significant change, and the reason the project was back before the board, was a reorientation of the array that moved it off the steeper sides of the capped, hillside landfill and further south toward the storage garage on the site. The entire profile should be smaller and less obtrusive.

Alan Benvides, senior vice president of Woodard & Curran engineering consultants, said the project has already been through the permitting process with the state Department of Environmental Protection, the Planning Board and the Conservation Commission.

Town Administrator Jonathan Butler had also suggested the project go back before both the town boards, said Benvides, but the Conservation Commission did not feel a need to review the changes primarly because the array will now be further away from the sensitive ecological areas at the site.

He expected to get the go-ahead from the state this week. The first step will be to cut the grass, and then lay down filter fabric and cover it with gravel. Some fencing will be added, but Benvides noted that posts could not be put through a capped landfill.

In response to questions from the board, he did not anticipate parking problems during construction but could not say what the final count of panels would be. The original plan called for some 4,000 to 5,000 panels; Benvides said the final calculations on the new design were being completed.

Barr added that the interconnection agreement with National Grid had been completed and that TectaSolar was applying to the state Department of Public Utilities for the net metering so town will get the energy credit.

The town is expected to save between $130,000 and $190,000 in energy costs annually over the next 15 years. TectaSolar, a division of Tecta America Corp., had expected to have the array up and online a year ago.

The board approved the redesign with little discussion and adjourned.

Friday Afternoon Fire Destroys Cheshire Barn

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
04:40PM / Friday, April 03, 2026

 

CHESHIRE, Mass. — A fire on Friday afternoon destroyed a barn at 920 Sand Mill Road.

 

The building is a total loss but firefighters were able to prevent the flames from reaching another nearby barn and the house at Stoney Brook Farm. 

 

Fire Chief Thomas Francesconi said the fire was called in 12:39 p.m. by the homeowners "but it already had a foothold before they noticed it."

 

Responding firefighters found the L-shaped structure fully involved. Adams, Lanesborough, Savoy and Windsor fire companies responded and Williamstown Fire covered the station.

 

The tankers were used to transport water from a nearby brook until a pool could be set up near the scene and water pumped into it. 

 

Northern Berkshire EMS responded and one firefighter was treated at the scene and then taken to Berkshire Medical Center. 

 

Francesconi said there were no other injuries but the owners told him there were 18 chickens in the barn. The structure also had equipment and other materials in it, including a Jeep.