Inverter hut fire at Shutesbury solar project prompts new permit review

On 16 April 2026 an inverter hut caught fire at a 5.6 megawatt solar project on Pratt Corner Road in Shutesbury, Massachusetts, a development associated with NextEra Energy, which holds the town special permit. Emergency dispatch was notified at 5.52pm and firefighters located the source of the blaze at 6.28pm. According to a memo from the town fire chief, the immediate aim was to stop the fire spreading beyond the inverter hut, and crews had to wait about an hour for capacitors to be deenergised before applying water to the inverters. Firefighters remained on site for several hours, eventually opening cabinet doors to confirm the equipment had cooled. No injuries or evacuations were reported in the source. A Planning Board member said that during an August site visit planners learned NextEra representatives had described the company's best practice as not informing first responders of an inverter fire. Town officials are now seeking to reopen the special permit to add conditions on vegetation management, hardscape buffers, emergency access and site monitoring.

Firefighters reported waiting roughly an hour for capacitors to be deenergised before water could be applied. Officials noted the site's remote location and reliance on a mostly volunteer fire department, and said the fire could have spread beyond the site had it occurred later in the season when grass is longer, or during drought conditions. The cause of ignition was not reported.

1. Operators should notify the local fire service of any equipment fire on site, however small, so responders can plan a safe approach.
2. Vegetation management, gravel or hardscape beneath and around critical electrical equipment reduces the risk of a fire spreading beyond an enclosure.
3. Site documentation should tell responders how and how quickly inverters and capacitors can be deenergised, because delay in making equipment safe extends the fire's growth window.
4. Permit and emergency plans for remote sites should set out access points, staging areas for water tenders, and monitoring such as cameras and alarms.

recorder.com/2026/09/21/shutesbury-select-board-seeks-new-permit-cond...