Finishing Hickory Ridge Trails Awaits Completion of Pure Sky Solar/Battery System
Artist's conception for accessible trail at Hickory Ridge. Photo: amherstma.gov
This report was made at a hybrid Town Council meeting held in Town Hall on October 18,2025. . The meeting was recorded.
Assistant Town Manager Dave Ziomek gave town councilors an update on the town’s work at the former Hickory Ridge Golf Course at the Town Council meeting on October 20.
The town purchased the property for $520,000 in 2019. The 27-acre solar installation was already permitted when the town bought the land. Ziomek characterized the property as “one of the most diverse and ecologically sensitive areas in town.” The Fort River runs through the center of the property, and the town has devoted hundreds of thousands of dollars for restoration work and the monitoring and protection of the rare turtle population there. In addition to town funding, the project has received funds from the Community Preservation Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, the Department of Conservation and Recreation, and a Parkland Acquisition and Renovations for Communities (PARC) grant.
The area is prone to flooding, and much is under a conservation restriction. The only buildable land is a few acres along West Pomeroy Lane where the former golf course clubhouse once stood. The clubhouse parking lot there is the only paved parking. The town first explored locating the South Amherst Fire Station/EMS at the site, but the Fire Chief deemed it to be too far from the center of town. Plans have now shifted to housing, possibly senior housing, so the town will hire a designer and engage the public for ideas on the best use of the property, a similar process to that conducted for the former VFW site and the South Amherst School. The site is served by town sewer and water.
Up to now, the town has been actively creating a trail system on the property. The one-mile accessible loop trail is complete, and another accessible trail to the north is under construction. The plan is to have the trails link to East Hadley Road to the north, West Street to the east, and Orchard Valley to the northwest. However, the connections between the trails cannot be completed until construction of the solar farm is complete. Pure Sky solar still needs to construct the pads for the battery storage and create access roads to West Pomeroy Lane and West Street. Until the construction is finished, the company will not be paying the previously negotiated payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) funds to the town.
Councilors were concerned with the safety of the battery storage system, but were assured by Ziomek that the plans for batteries and containment system have been approved by the Fire Department and the Conservation Commission and will conform to existing standards.
I would like to see a comprehensive plan and budget for any future Hickory Ridge plans before any more money goes into it. The town has already spent $890,000 on this project, and while some of this is CPA money – let’s not forget that CPA money is also taxpayer money. Hickory Ridge is a lovely piece of land, and I like conservation and recreation as much as the next person, but I just don’t think that Amherst is in a financial position to be spending any money without carefully scrutinizing both project costs and any future budget implications for upkeep.
Hickory Ridge is a fantastic site and is already being used regularly by a large number of Amherst residents. Mr. Ziomek gave a very informative presentation and should be recognized for the hard work he and this staff have done to make this project what it is today.
Some things that were not mentioned in the presentation are rather significant.
The PureSky solar project at Hickory Ridge has been under construction for close to 3 years, and important components of the project are still incomplete. This is not normal.
The first-generation Powin Centipede 750 batteries being used for the project were purchased 3 years ago and have been sitting in storage for the past 2 years. During this time, there have been at least two major fires in New York and Idaho involving these particular batteries. Water intrusion into the battery enclosures was identified as the cause of these fires. Powin claims to have identified the design failures that led to the fires and has developed recommended field modifications to the enclosures to prevent future occurrences. The batteries still have not been delivered to the site.
Unfortunately, Powin (the battery company) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on June 10, 2025. In the bankruptcy proceedings, another company, FlexGen, submitted a winning bid and acquired a substantial portion of Powin’s assets. Assets included Powin’s hardware IP, software IP, information technology systems, and spare‐parts inventory. It is important to know that FlexGen is a software company, not a battery hardware company. In effect, Powin, the battery manufacturer, will no longer exist. It is still not clear how this will affect the warranty on Powin hardware going forward. These developments may have a negative effect on support for the BESS and serious liability questions if something goes wrong.
Keep in mind that for at least the next 20 years, these batteries will be operating on town property characterized by Mr. Ziomek as “one of the most diverse and ecologically sensitive areas in town.” This situation is very concerning.