Court Dorsey: Stand out for SMART Solar May 5

Addressing climate change is a high priority, both for the governor, and for the human family. But how it is addressed is also important. We in western Massachusetts are stewards of a bio-diverse landscape with rich farmland and a treasury of beautiful vistas.

On Monday May 5 at the Holyoke Heritage Park, state “stakeholders” will convene to hear testimony that the newly established Energy Facilities Siting Board will consider, when it defines what are appropriate sites for development, and which sites ought to be preserved. No Assault & Batteries (NAB) in Wendell has prepared a 50-point list of Suitability Standards that we will present in those hearings. We are asking anyone who wants to show state decision-makers that we in western Mass. want our bio-diversity protected, our citizens safe, and our voices heard, to come join us for a Stand Out for Site Suitability at 4:30 p.m. (before and during the hybrid hearing) at the Holyoke Heritage Park, 221 Appleton St. in Holyoke.

To learn more, interested parties can visit the NAB website at wwwNABunited.org. We say to corporate interests, “If you want to construct cheap energy facilities that produce profits, while destroying our biodiversity — Hands Off our forests!” Site solar arrays on already disturbed lands and keep dangerous battery projects manageable in size and close to where the energy is to be used. Stand alone batteries should not be covered by the Dover Amendment, which was intended to promote solar facilities, not buy low/sell high detached for-profit systems. And let’s consider conservation first, before forecasting higher and higher energy demands.

Come join us on May 5. We are western Mass. strong, when we stand together, when we are needed to protect our environment . Not all solar is SMART solar. Right now, what constitutes SMART solar is being determined by “stakeholders.” Let’s raise our voices loud and clear.

Court Dorsey

Wendell