Letter: Why Amherst Needs A Temporary Moratorium On The Permitting And Approval Of Large-Scale Ground Mounted Solar Installations

On November 8, 2021, Lynn Griesemer and Pat DeAngelis of the Amherst Town Council introduced a zoning amendment proposing a temporary moratorium on the permitting and approval of large-scale ground mounted (LSGM) solar photovoltaic installations. Their reasoning was that Amherst needed to create a bylaw governing those LSGM installations and until that bylaw is law, the permitting of such installations could have seen and unseen negative effects on the environment. The Council voted to send the proposal to the Community Resources Committee (CRC) and to the Planning Board (PB). On January 12, the CRC held a public hearing on the matter with a presentation by the petitioners who now included newly elected District 5 Councilor Ana Devlin-Gauthier. Devlin-Gauthier had been a member of the Conservation Commission. Public sentiment at that hearing was lopsidedly in favor of a moratorium.

There is widespread agreement in Town Hall that Amherst needs a solar siting bylaw, so the Planning Board and Planning Department will undertake the task of drafting one. The State of Massachusetts has been promoting such bylaws for the past seven years and several communities in the state have created them for their towns and cities. So, it makes sense for us to hold off permitting these large-scale installations until a bylaw is created. The hearing on January 12 went late into the night so deliberation before a vote will take place on January 26.

Rather than go into the details myself of what a moratorium will and will not do, I direct you to Devlin-Gauthier’s excellent presentation on the matter: The most often cited reason not to have a moratorium is that our planet is burning up (I agree) and to possibly (are there plans that haven’t been submitted?) postpone a new LSGM installation by even a few months would put Amherst and the planet further behind in our quest to achieve a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

The State of Massachusetts gave guidance for solar installation bylaws in 2014, Amherst is behind the curve on this initiative, but that does not mean we should rush headlong into clear cutting hundreds of acres of forest without any guidelines. A large solar installation on a former forest is not a win win. While an LSGM will likely result in a net gain in carbon sequestration, there will be losses. Forests also sequester carbon, turn CO2 into oxygen, filter pollutants out of the air and protect our water supply. Given the extremely short term gains possible vs the likely costly errors without a bylaw to guide the process, it’s hard to understand why the idea of a moratorium is controversial.

Gerry Weiss

Gerry Weiss, a psychotherapist, was a member of the Amherst Select Board from 2004 to 2010 and a member of Town Meeting for 19 years.