Charlton Planning Board Conditionally Approves NextEra Solar Decommissioning Bond

CHARLTON — October 1, 2025 — Charlton Planning Board conditionally approves NextEra Energy decommissioning bond at $640,646, attaches environmental surety requirement. The board voted unanimously at its October 1 meeting to accept the bond for the solar facility at 261 North Sturbridge Road but required that coverage explicitly include environmental and hazardous waste risk — either by rewriting the existing Zurich surety or obtaining a separate instrument — after a board member identified Section 8 of the current bond as disclaiming liability for hazardous and wetland-related events. Attorney Chris Nolan, representing NextEra, accepted the bond value but objected that environmental risks are covered by separate insurance, at one point telling the board, "Please, whatever you're going to do, put it in writing." The board also conditioned approval on updated DC megawatt values and a corrected panel count in the decommissioning plan's Table One, and confirmed no certificate of occupancy can issue until all conditions are satisfied. The board separately voted unanimously to approve a site plan for L and B Enterprises LLC at 29 South Bridge Road after surveyor Mika Lassila of Topper Land Survey reported all Graves Engineering review comments had been addressed.