Michael DeChiara, a longtime leader on solar and environmental issues, offers his opinion on solar siting (“What determines solar siting? Profits,” Recorder, Aug. 5) and notes that current Massachusetts laws don’t give municipalities much of a role in siting. Changes coming later this year will further reduce the ability of towns to guide such decisions. Profit drives many siting proposals from both developers and private landowners, though clean energy considerations may also be part of the mix.
Conway is currently considering a proposed solar agrivoltaic project. The developer, BlueWave, is certainly motivated to make a profit, though it appears that BlueWave is adjusting aspects of the proposal in response to the Planning Board’s extensive review. Conway has a good Planning Board that is making the best of a situation it didn’t choose. If BlueWave remains responsive and this project is approved, the project will have benefited from such a careful review.
I’m encouraged to read about projects that successfully combine solar and farming. I hope that if this project is built, it will be one of the success stories. We desperately need more clean energy to meet the demands of our climate crisis. But DeChiara is right. Massachusetts needs to require developers to use existing siting data and give communities more flexibility to guide development to truly suitable locations.
Sia Stewart
Conway