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Writing for the Boston Bar Journal, Matt Connolly and Matt Snell Discuss SJC Rules on Solar Facility Special Permit Denials
Print PDFMatt Connolly and Matt Snell, partners in Nutter’s Real Estate Department and co-chairs of the firm’s Environment and Energy practice group, wrote an article examining the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's (SJC) solar permitting decision in the Boston Bar Journal. In the article, “SJC Rules on Solar Facility Special Permit Denials in Sunpin Energy Services v. Petersham,” the authors discussed how the SJC further defined the limited circumstances where a local zoning board may deny a special permit for a proposed solar energy system under what is commonly known as the “Dover Amendment” to The Zoning Act, G.L. c. 40A, § 3.
“This decision provides clarity for zoning boards on the scope of issues that may support denial of a special permit for a solar energy project, while reminding those boards that Massachusetts law and public policy provide for a ‘narrow ambit’ within which a municipality may deny a solar project,” stated Matt and Matt. “Further, the SJC reminds municipalities that the Dover Amendment is intended to promote siting of solar facilities and heavily limits the possibility of such denials (the intent is to ‘support and not unduly interfere’ with siting of solar projects). Generalized concerns about public welfare that are not specific to the proposed site and project, even if they are otherwise legitimate, will not be enough for a municipality to deny a special permit for a solar facility.”
The article expands upon the April 2026 edition of Nutter’s Environment & Energy Insights, a periodic update of current trends in environment and energy law.
