Massachusetts towns are raising concerns about large solar proposals, warning that the cost of defending local land-use decisions is straining their budgets.
Here's what to know
In Shutesbury, Planning Board member Jeff Weston told the Greenfield Recorder that the town received no state help with litigation over five proposed projects that might have removed roughly 29,000 trees on 190 acres.
More than 60 people attended an energy-siting listening session held by the Healey-Driscoll administration at Shutesbury Public Library, with others joining online.
Who gets to decide the future of local forests and farmland was a central concern. Residents and officials said state rules diminish their authority while leaving western Massachusetts communities to shoulder development costs.
In Northfield, a developer sued after the Planning Board rejected proposals covering 80 acres. The eventual agreement included productive farmland and covered part of the proposed project land.
"What are small towns like us supposed to do?" asked Northfield Planning Board member Joseph Graveline, according to the Recorder. "They are putting us into bankruptcy."
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Massachusetts Undersecretary of Energy Michael Judge acknowledged that the Dover Amendment limits what municipalities can require. Speakers criticized those restrictions on local zoning for uses, including solar installations.
More background
The Recorder noted that Judge also acknowledged that developers find forests and farms cheaper and easier to develop than already-built sites. That approach, however, leaves rural communities fighting to protect land they value for agriculture, water protection, and wildlife habitat.
For Weston, protecting the town's forests is also about protecting Boston's drinking water supply.
"We protect the Quabbin Reservoir, our trees filter the water for the Quabbin Reservoir," Weston said.
The state's 2024 Siting and Permitting Law gives municipalities 12 months to complete permitting and calls for one consolidated local decision for small clean energy facilities, according to the Greenfield Recorder.
Speakers questioned what qualifies as small. Save Massachusetts Forests member Janet Sinclair pointed to projects spanning 30 to 40 acres.
What's being done?
The Intervenor Support Grant Program, administered by the Department of Public Utilities, offers financial assistance to municipalities, organizations, and individuals to retain legal counsel and specialists for proceedings before the Energy Facilities Siting Board, the Recorder said.
However, the program had not been used.
Pollutant releases can leave developers or property owners liable, Massachusetts climate chief Melissa Hoffer said, noting that stormwater rules remain in force. An appeal would be reviewed again by the siting board, Judge said, even when a town's rejection rests on poor site-suitability scores. He said those scores can be grounds to deny a project.
Judge said the state is working to improve compensation for rooftop and parking-lot projects.
Still, Hoffer suggested that legislative changes are needed.
"The reason you feel stuck… is because we are stuck," she said.
Meaningful community engagement and stronger environmental protections were supposed to accompany faster permitting under the 2024 law, said state Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton.
"Clearly we have work to do; your presence here indicates that," Comerford said.
Where can I learn more?
Other communities face similar questions about solar development rules, local protections, and financial risks.
• In Amherst, Massachusetts, a clean energy bylaw protects private wells with public-water buffers.
• Southwick, Massachusetts, is drafting a 12-month permitting path for battery, solar, and wind projects.
• Virginia counties that restrict solar development risk losing local control to state officials.
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