Massachusetts’ plan to encourage solar energy development across the commonwealth pits neighbor against neighbor in the Hilltowns. I was present at the Worthington Town Hall listening session attended by Gov. Maura Healey and reported on by this paper. What I heard, and what I hope every state official heard from people in the room facing large solar developments planned for outside of their kitchen windows, and from a landowner planning a 28-acre solar farm, frustrated by the blowback he was receiving from his community for his farm-saving financial choice, was how the lack of meaningful local control of these developments tears at the social fabric of our communities.
I fully support the growth of solar photovoltaic energy development to help Massachusetts reach its green energy goals, and I believe every town in the state should increase its renewable energy contribution to the grid. The state needs to adopt a program that fulfills that mission but not one that creates winners and losers within our communities.
The Hilltown region is known for its inconvenience to just about everywhere and everything. The terrain of the Hilltowns is varied, from high flat ridges offering spectacular views to steep slopes that descend toward one of the multiple branches of the Westfield River or the Deerfield River, or directly into the Connecticut River. The image brought to mind when one hears “New England” is what the Hilltowns truly are, and that image of New England goes on mile after mile in the Hilltowns. The state’s plan will bring industrial scale solar farms and battery energy storage systems (BESS) to this area where there are few places to logically put them. Our towns often have no industrial or commercial zones or few “disturbed” landscapes, where the state suggests we place these developments. These are centuries-old communities that grew organically without planning. Projects may well end up being sited near historic homes or highly valued scenic areas because these places are located throughout our communities. Under the commonwealth’s program, we are not allowed to exclude our most valued places from solar and BESS development unless they meet a very narrow category of conditions.
But what makes this such an outstanding place to live is the people who inhabit it. There is an amalgam of rich, poor and middle class, of all political persuasions. We come together at town meetings to make decisions on town matters and do our best to keep it civil so we can all have a good time at the next pancake breakfast. But more than that, we rely on these folks, our neighbors, for our well-being. For in these small communities, almost every bit of work that needs to be done to keep its town services running is done voluntarily or with nominal compensation, by those same people that we run into at the post office. A first responder, someone you know, may be the person who is there with you in the last moments of your life. For all of our differences, we know that we need one another. It is the interdependence of the people of the Hilltowns that keeps our communities resilient and enduring.
We are not unwilling to work out where to site these developments but we would like more tools to help us protect the features and landscapes we deeply care about. Equally important, we are getting zero guidance from the state on how much acreage should be designated as open to commercial solar or BESS. If developers keep showing up at our door, we must keep our door wide open to receive them. As we shift to powering our homes and vehicles with electricity, the pressure on our land will only grow.
There are two things the governor could do right now that would make Hilltowners more receptive to solar and battery energy storage. First, allow towns more leeway to choose what to preserve and protect based on what they treasure and value. Second, inform towns how many acres of land should be available for development, and when a town hits that mark allow that town to close its door to further commercial solar and battery energy storage development.
Maureen Sullivan lives in Middlefield.