We on the Amherst Public Shade Tree Committee are receiving many requests to cut down town street trees to allow home owners to install solar panels on their roofs.
While we strongly support the use of solar energy, we believe that existing trees provide far greater ecological benefits.
In the last few months, we have received a half dozen requests to take down large shade trees — oaks, maples, pines, etc. Homeowners say these trees are blocking sunlight from hitting the roof. But these are your public shade trees. They were planted to line our streets, cool our neighborhoods and provide beauty as we pass by.
And they are already collecting solar energy. They are also cleaning the air we breathe, capturing and storing carbon, lessening flooding and erosion by catching stormwater runoff, blocking the wind, and cooling our streets, as mentioned above. They are also providing habitat for birds, butterflies and other wildlife.
While all trees give benefits, street trees are particularly beneficial in towns and cities to reduce urban heat islands. According to a study in Argentina, streets without trees can be as much as 16 degrees hotter than those that have them. Wouldn’t you rather walk along in 80 degree shade than in 96 degree sunlight this summer?
There is an alternative to destroying our urban canopy: community solar. In community solar projects, homeowners join together and put their solar panels in one large solar electric plant.
Such projects are producing energy in Massachusetts towns such as Sterling and Taunton, and more are being planned including one in Greenfield. By joining one of these, you can receive the benefits of lower electric bills, do your part to combat climate change, and still keep our town tree canopy. The benefits of cheaper electricity, net metering credits, and return on investment accrue to multiple homeowners.
We can start a project like this in Amherst, or you may be able to join one in another town such as the solar farms being built by Coop Power in Greenfield or the Clean Energy Collective in Worcester. And there are other groups that build projects themselves and sell you the electricity at a discount.
We can have all the advantages of trees and solar at the same time. Our arboreal citizens need and deserve our fullest protection. They will give back plenty in return!
Henry Lappen
Amherst
The author is the chair of the Amherst Public Shade Tree Committee.