Community Public Forum
Wednesday, September 30, 2026 · 12:30 to 1:30 PM and 6:30 to 8:00 PM · Dexter Hall, Charlton Public Library · Held in person at Dexter Hall, second floor of the Charlton Public Library, 40 Main Street. Both sessions were recorded. The recordings and a written summary of each session are in the Engagement Log.
Welcome
Slide 1 of 27
Slide 1 of 27: Carpenter Hill Power
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About This Meeting
This meeting took place on Wednesday, September 30, 2026. The slides above are exactly what the room saw, and the notes to the right were added afterward.
Need translation, interpretation, or another accommodation for a future meeting? Email jsantiago@esa-solar.com or call 407-232-7440 ext. 251 and we will arrange it.
What We Heard, and What We Did
The midday session ran about two hours, with a long question period and the benefits activity. The evening session drew a larger crowd, questions came throughout, and the slides and the benefits activity were not finished before the 8 PM close. Both recordings and a written summary of each session are in the Engagement Log.
Private wells were the top concern in both sessions: whether blasting or a fire could contaminate wells within a mile, and whether clearing trees on ledge makes runoff and flooding worse.
Fire and smoke: hydrogen fluoride, how far an evacuation could reach, and fire trucks reaching the site when Route 20 backs up. We explained that a failed cabinet is left to burn out while crews protect the surroundings, and that a site-specific hazard and plume analysis is filed with the application.
Residents asked what holds a future owner to its promises, since the project will be sold. Permit conditions and the decommissioning bond carry to any owner, along with any terms the town and the project put into a signed agreement.
Residents said a battery does nothing for the town if the grid goes down and nothing for electric bills, and offered ideas for the benefits plan: backup power at the senior center, police station, and fire station; regular well testing; property value protection; money held for enforcement; town water extended toward the site; and replanting trees elsewhere in Charlton.
Sound came up for the site and for the substation next to it, with a request for sound walls. Design requests included one equipment maker with like-for-like replacements, a domestic cell supplier, and full containment of site runoff shown on the site plan.
In the midday benefits activity, money for the town budget drew the most support, followed by fire equipment and training, conservation land and habitat, and help with home energy costs. The activity is advisory only. The evening session ran out of time for it.
We published the draft Community Benefits Plan for public comment the same day. Comment is open through November 30, 2026, and every comment gets a written reply.
The state Energy Facilities Siting Board decides on the permit. The town, neighborhood groups, and residents can apply for the state's Intervenor Support Grant to take part.
On the meetings themselves, residents asked for a technical expert on hand for water, noise, and fire questions, no 90-minute cap, and a different venue. We acknowledged that feedback on format.