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Date: 2/22/2022
AMHERST – The Town Council will soon make a decision that could have an impact on some renewable energy projects.
The town of Amherst has made a conscious effort to create a greener future through commitments in its the Master Plan and Climate Resilience Plan aimed at making Amherst a net-zero community. One part of the future for a greener Amherst involves a switch to solar power. Solar is slowing growing in town, with planned projects like a solar array installation at the former Hickory Ridge Golf Course property.
But one of the more recent proposals, a proposed installation of an 11-megawatt array on Shutesbury Road, raised concerns that the town and/or developers could be rushing into projects like these when there is no solar siting bylaw on the books for the town. Back in December 2021, Town Council President Lynn Griesemer along with fellow District 2 Councilor Pat De Angelis sponsored a proposed moratorium on large-scale ground-mounted solar installation projects until a proper study and writing of a solar bylaw could be done.
As the month of February begins, that moratorium proposal is currently awaiting a vote by the Town Council after a few months of deliberation between the sponsors of the moratorium, the Planning Board, the Conservation Commission, and most important the Community Resources Committee (CRC) who ultimately approved the recommendation to Town Council.
With or without a moratorium, town officials will be working toward the development and creation of a solar bylaw would prevent the Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Board from accepting or approving “any application for a large-scale ground-mounted solar energy system with a rated capacity of 250 kW DC or greater.”
This, according to supporters, would allow town officials to conduct a solar siting study and draft a bylaw without the concerns of projects rushing ahead of any potential guidelines that come from a bylaw to better protect the environment in town. A moratorium would not impact the installation of roof-top solar or any smaller solar projects like that.
Speaking at the CRC’s Jan. 27 at which the moratorium was recommended, Assistant Town Manager and Conservation Commission Director Dave Ziomek said,“From a staff perspective, outreach on solar is already going. Clearly, we want input from the ECAC (Energy & Climate Action Committee) and I think it can come together quickly. The key is pulling resources from other communities to see what they’ve done. Every solar bylaw is basically unique to that community.”
The ECAC purpose is to guide the town in meeting its climate mitigation and resilience goals. While those goals make clear solar installation is necessary for this next phase of Amherst, they also feel in order to properly create a solar bylaw, something the governor has advocated each city and town in the commonwealth do. They need to have a proper solar siting study that stretches over the course of a few months.
Town Councilor Pat De Angelis, as a sponsor of a moratorium, believes there is not much to lose in establishing a moratorium.
“We are not opposed to solar development or in ground installations. I feel like saying ‘we would cut down anything for solar now’ – and we do need alternative energy – but if we destroy forests completely in Amherst to put up in ground solar, we lose all the positive impacts of forest,” De Angelis said. “Gov. [Charlie] Baker’s decarbonization roadmap talks about balancing solar installations and forests.”
De Angelis has been working directing with Smart Solar Amherst, a group in town that supports responsible, environmentally sound solar development in Amherst to learn more about the benefits from of a bylaw in creating successful and environmentally safe installation projects.
Renee Moss is on the steering committee for Smart Solar Amherst and lives on Shutesbury Road. She has been for a moratorium and creation of a solar bylaw since the project was initially proposed before it was withdrawn. Moss and others on Smart Solar, with the help of Smart Solar Western Mass., have sent information to town officials breaking down all the possible impacts of not creating a solar bylaw.
“I don’t refer to it as a moratorium, I refer to it as a temporary moratorium. We hope its short, gives us time to take a breath, and do it right,” Moss said. “That’s why we call ourselves Smart Solar Amherst, we are a group that very much supports the development of renewable energy.”
Looking ahead in 2022, the first step in developing the bylaw is conducting a solar siting study to look at potential large-scale ground-mounted solar installation locations and look for the possible impacts on the environment even though the green energy is very much needed. The idea from those in favor is to create safe guidelines that protect the town from any possible issues and upholds an environmentally friendly perspective.
Amherst Sustainability Coordinator Stephanie Ciccarello has been active in organizing and working through the development of a solar bylaw and expressed most recently at the Jan. 27 CRC meeting that the town is working on this regardless of a moratorium status.
“I think the desire from the ECAC’s perspective is that information helps inform the development of a bylaw and with a focus on how town is meeting the climate action goals,” Ciccarello said.
Opponents to a solar moratorium have made the point that we are too late in the climate emergency to potentially take 18 months in developing a bylaw when it is not necessary in the creation of that bylaw. Councilor De Angelis expressed that the time given in a moratorium would allow projects under the moratorium’s description to not advance and allow everyone impacted in this process to come together and develop the best solar bylaw they can.
“The very fact there’s a universal agreement we need a bylaw means a moratorium would be beneficial and apply an equitable bylaw,” De Angelis said. “It allows us to create a committee to look at the siting and I think that’s incredibly important.”
During discussions at the Jan. 27 CRC meeting, all parties involved seemed to agree that bringing in more voices with different perspectives and opinions from other town municipalities to the table, and including possible solar developers, is the best way to create the best solar bylaw possible.
Ana Devlin Gauthier, who just joined the Town Council this year, joined Griesemer and De Angelis as sponsors of the moratorium. Gauthier, who has worked on the Conservation Commission, has said there appears to be an overwhelming agreement on the creation of this bylaw, just a different approach to creating it.
“We really wanted to make sure it was clear this was not intended at all to be anti-solar and to strengthen the regulations we have by introducing a solar bylaw,” Devlin Gauthier said.
Devlin Gauthier has been a vocal support of the project, stating in past meetings that the existing Zoning Bylaw is vague about solar arrays and there are not specific guidelines for the projects Amherst is making efforts in bringing in. She says a moratorium would permit the town to study its energy needs as well as develop specifications for solar siting through a new bylaw.
While a bylaw is being developed, developers of a proposed project could file a Preliminary Subdivision Plan that could “freeze the zoning” and exempt them from having to meet the requirements of the new bylaw. This is one concern of taking a moratorium, but many who are for it believe in the long run it will be worth it as more projects than not will have to adhere to the new solar bylaw.
Regardless of whether a moratorium is adopted, the town’s goal on this subject for this upcoming year is entirely focused on conducting a solar siting study and beginning the development of the draft. The town clearly is on the same page with the need for one, but the way of getting there has differed.
The moratorium was listed as a high priority item for the Town Council. The council conducted a first reading of the proposed moratorium at its Feb. 7 meeting. Following that meeting, the council was scheduled to meet again on Feb. 28 for a second reading and vote to approve the large scale solar moratorium.