Wenham Select Board favors solar lease deal
Wenham leaned toward leasing, not buying, a solar array ahead of Town Meeting.
Select Board · Meeting of March 17, 2026
Wenham leaned toward leasing, not buying, a solar array ahead of Town Meeting. The Select Board and Finance Committee heard Land Use Director Kate Mallory present a 25-year lease with Solect Energy worth an estimated $759,611 in bill credits, versus a $1,169,481 purchase requiring an $82,000 deposit by July 1. Finance Committee Chair Phineas Sprague said the board seemed "locked into this particular arrangement," while Solect's Norman Kumalo countered that most of the company's 100-plus municipal clients choose the lease to avoid risk.
No solar vote was taken; the board can still switch paths at its March 31 meeting. Separately, the board voted unanimously to sign a letter with the Conservation Commission seeking more time to review a Beverly Regional Airport runway expansion, approved a Hamilton-Wenham Little League batting cage at Pingree Park, and voted 2-0 to relocate the Cheeseman Memorial with Gary Cheeseman recused.
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Source: the Select Board meeting of March 17, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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