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Environmental Justice
Smaller and less powerful Massachusetts communities are bearing the load for irresponsible solar projects while indigenous lands and historical sites are being overlooked and ignored. Being responsible in our transition to clean energy also means being equitable.
In MA, an environmental justice (EJ) community is defined as a community where:
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the annual median household income is 65 percent or less of the statewide annual median household income
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minorities make up 40 percent or more of the population
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25 percent or more of households identify as speaking English less than "very well"
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minorities make up 25 percent or more of the population and the annual median household income of the municipality in which the neighborhood is located does not exceed 150 percent of the statewide annual median household income.
Improperly sited solar arrays also destroy Indigenous heritage. In 2016, Borrego Solar desecrated the historic King Philip’s Cave site in Freetown MA and is responsible for other sites. The BlueWave solar project on prime agricultural land on the Connecticut River in Northfield MA will desecrate an area with 5 known Indigenous sites.
The before and after of King Phillip's Cave indigenous site. after the Borrego Solar project.
In Hopkinton, a 2.4 MW solar farm was halted after members of the Narragansett Indian Tribal Historic Preservation Office found destroyed stone artifacts during the clearing of a 17 acre parcel of forest.