Fast and Fair Energy Transition: Thoughts on a Proposed Solar Moratorium
Our town, Amherst, MA, is debating whether to enact an 18-month moratorium on large solar plants while they develop new bylaws to guide future decision making. As concerned residents, and faculty at the Energy Transition Institute we share our thoughts on this topic here:
We are in a climate emergency. There are many paths to stabilizing the climate, but the consensus is that carbon-emitting fossil energy must be replaced with non-carbon energy. The Energy Transition must be rapid and it must be fair.
Protecting and planting forests is not enough.
The energy transition is a massive challenge. The International Energy Agency in its Net zero by 2050 report estimates a need to install the equivalent of the world’s largest solar plant every day between today and 2050. And that is only one part of the solution.
Climate policy is of paramount importance, and it must mesh with conservation and environmental justice. The single biggest threat to our local ecosystems is climate change. For example, climate change is already endangering the iconic sugar maple in our region. We must protect forests and their potential to sequester and store carbon, and we must accelerate decarbonization. We must encourage adoption of rooftop solar. And we must rapidly deploy utility-scale solar.
There is no time to delay and behave as if these are alternative pathways to success.
In lieu of a moratorium, Amherst should review the permitting process for utility-scale solar while continuing to use existing processes and drawing on the world-class local resources, such as the UMass Clean Energy Extension, to guide responsible decisions around solar deployment.
A moratorium would delay new solar plants. Every 10 MW plant (~40 acres of panels) that is delayed means that we continue to rely on the natural gas-intensive grid instead (where NG makes up 46% of regional electricity production). One 10 MW solar plant displaces some 5,400 MWh of NG-powered electricity per year, reduces NG industry revenue by $189,000, and avoids 3500 tons of CO2 per year. Delaying is equivalent to putting an additional 750 gasoline-powered vehicles on the road every day of the delay. The moratorium would boost a natural gas industry that should be in decline, creating incentives for new investment including new NG pipelines.
Energy transition is rife with equity implications. Climate change itself threatens catastrophic consequences for many of the world’s poorest people, many of whom are already suffering from its impact. Continued reliance on fossil fuels continues pollution exposure of vulnerable Environmental Justice communities. Rooftop solar, as currently configured, is only available to those who own a roof and have upfront money to invest. Current agreements in utility-scale solar do include revenues for Amherst and jobs, but agreements might be structured to ensure that landowners are not disproportionate beneficiaries, as they often are in forestry and suburban development.
We must be intentional about equity and we must address the climate challenge.
The transition to renewable energy involves change, costs, and benefits, but it is the only viable path. It is our turn to take responsibility for our choices, to monitor the trade-offs for equity, and to make our actions match our words.
Signed:
Dr. Michael Ash, Professor of Economics, Acting Faculty Director of The Energy Transition Institute, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Dr. Erin Baker, Professor of Industrial Engineering, Faculty Director of The Energy Transition Institute, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Dr. Anna Goldstein, Executive Director of the Energy Transition Institute, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Dr. Brian Yellen, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Geosciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst