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ON APRIL 1, at the start of Earth Month, the Massachusetts Governor’s Commission on Energy Infrastructure Siting and Permitting released its report on the best ways of reforming our energy siting process so that we can accelerate our necessary transition to renewable energy.
The only problem? The members of the commission were not able to reach agreement. After six months of work, the commission, tasked to generate recommendations that private transmission and generation developers, investor-owned utilities (like National Grid), environmental justice communities, environmental advocates, local communities, and other stakeholders could all accept, was unable to do so. The fact is, the commission encountered all the same disagreements that are leading to local siting battles across the country.
Developers need a regulatory process that won’t delay development while all the other stakeholders want to be sure that public concerns are taken seriously.
A great many communities have been sidelined in environmental decision-making in the past, leading to unfair burdens on marginalized communities, unequal health outcomes, and a legacy of mistrust. The public wants – and has a right – to have a say about when, where, and how renewable energy facilities are built before all the important decisions get made.
Private investors, on the other hand, don’t want word to get out about what they intend to build until they are ready to answer detailed questions from regulators and residents, And investor-owned utilities want a predictable process that will minimize costly delays.
How can these be reconciled? Our studies suggest that the key is carefully structured negotiations that lead to enforceable agreement. At the project level, this is accomplished through enforceable community benefit agreements, or CBAs.
In published studies by MIT’s Science Impact Collaborative, we examined more than 50 siting controversies across the United States. A clear pattern emerged: residents are mobilizing against renewable energy projects when legitimate local concerns are ignored. This doesn’t mean that new clean energy infrastructure can’t be built, but local impacts need to be mitigated and compensated. Our studies underscore a growing demand across diverse communities for equitable treatment.
At the local level, enforceable community benefit agreements can ensure that appropriate benefits are offered in exchange for hosting a facility. This is the way to ensure that development proceeds fairly and efficiently.
CBAs can be worked out relatively quickly, especially if skilled facilitators manage the conversations. These negotiations need to begin with an independent stakeholder assessment to ensure that everyone likely to be affected is appropriately represented in the negotiations. An assessment should yield a balanced committee, specify a quick development timetable, and identify independent technical advisors acceptable to everyone.
While the specific components of CBAs can vary, they should ensure that developers hold residents harmless while the region benefits from less expensive and less climate-destroying electricity. Developers should promise to do everything they can, including exceeding minimum environmental standards, to compensate landowners for any losses and guarantee financial contributions for local public services and infrastructure.
For these agreements to be truly effective, participants need help reaching informed consensus, which may include professional facilitation paid for by the state.
In Michigan, when rural counties recently tried to stop solar projects, the state legislature voted to exclude all local involvement in planning for renewable energy facilities. We fear that Massachusetts is headed down the same path, and it is completely inappropriate and unnecessary.
When necessary clean infrastructure projects may adversely affect a community, those residents should have a chance to raise their concerns and work with the developer to make project changes that will reduce the risks and avoid the costs. Nearby residents should be guaranteed that their property values will not go down. Tribal leadership needs to be consulted if their sovereign territory is at risk. Residents near larger projects may be concerned about loss of conservation land and endangered habits. Most of all, they wonder why they should bear these costs so that the rest of the region can benefit.
Critics may argue that negotiating CBAs will take time and increase the cost of renewable energy development. We would argue that by discussing community concerns while there is still time to make important changes, it’s possible to reduce the amount spent on litigation and avoid the costs of regulatory delays down the line.
Transitioning to renewable energy is certainly in the interest of the citizens of Massachusetts, but it must be pursued with the public interest in mind. Decision makers at the state and local level must ensure that stakeholders are consulted in a timely manner; not through staged public hearings but through facilitated negotiations that aim to generate informed local agreements. This is not only the right thing to do, but also the most practical way to proceed.
The governor and the Legislature should help statewide stakeholders reach agreement before implementing siting reforms. These reforms should ensure enforceable community benefit agreements are in place before renewable energy siting decisions are made.
Larry Suskind is the Ford professor of urban and environmental planning at MIT.
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