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SHUTESBURY
Shutesbury has been fighting to preserve hundreds of acres of forest from deforestation for corporate solar development since 2022.
To contact them visit https://smartsolarshutesbury.org/
TIMELINE
As of December 2024, there are no updates on the state of the lawsuit. Smart Solar Shutesbury is continuing to raise funds to fight the lawsuit.
June 2023:
PureSky, a multinational carbon credit company profiting off of greenwashing, purchases AMP Energy.
April 2023:
Cowls and Amp sue Shutesbury. They essentially claim that Shutesbury local legislation is too restrictive for them to make a profit.
Their claims:
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the original solar bylaw is too restrictive
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the new solar bylaw is too restrictive
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rejecting their subdivision plans was unjust
Cowls and Amp claim that the town bylaws violate the Dover Amendment (see more under "Takeaways").
Shutesbury activists estimate the lawsuit will cost the town tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
January 2023:
Cowls and AMP drop off plans for four development subdivisions on the day of the solar bylaw vote. Their plan would allow them to avoid the application of the solar bylaw. However, all parties are required by law to submit plans 1 day before and be presented to the planning board. Cowls + AMP did not complete either of these processes and the plans are therefore rejected by the town.
In a nearly unanimous vote, the town of Shutesbury passes a solar bylaw that requires higher land protection standards to grants solar permits It is rejected by attorney general for 'technical issues.'
2022:
Amp Energy, a national solar corporation applies to develop hundreds of acres of Shutesbury forests for solar arrays. Amp goes through the initial steps to determine a land impact.
AMP needs the town to ‘collaborate’ on this project so that it can reap millions of dollars in ratepayer-funded incentive funds from the state’s SMART (Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target) program. The SMART program is not intended for commercial developers like AMP but instead was designed to benefit municipalities. In fact, Shutesbury’s forests should not qualify for SMART funding because the land is more than 50% “BioMap2” priority/core habitat and critical natural landscape.
Concerned community members identify negative impacts that deforestation would have on land, water, and carbon emissions and decide to create stronger bylaws to better protect essential forests.
SITE MAP
Cowls + AMP/ Puresky industrial solar project is planned for 190 acres of forested land that provide ecosystem services and drinking water for our communities.
Sites (red) in Shutesbury are located close to areas already being deforested by COWLs for lumber (orange). These sites have a slow rate of regrowth. Deforestation for solar arrays in these areas will contribute to forest fragmentation, which multiplies the damage of deforestation on isolated sites.
Sites (red) are located on slopes, upstream of watershed. The blue arrows show the direction of water flow towards reservoirs and lakes.
"Conserved" forested land is currently being logged by COWLs. The solar arrays must be considered in the context of already existing deforestation.
Proposed solar array sites are shown in red. Land currently being used for logging is shown in orange.
TAKEAWAYS
Like solar development proposals across the Massachussetts, Cowls + Puresky are greenwashing their proposal for a highly profitable development project that would result in massive deforestation and environmental devastation with harmful impacts on the Shutebury community.
Here's what we can learn from this case to protect forests and communities across the state:
DOVER AMENDMENT
Under the Dover Amendment, "municipalities may not “prohibit or unreasonably regulate the installation of solar energy systems or the building of structures that facilitate the collection of solar energy, except where necessary to protect the public health, safety, or welfare."
This law is intended to promote the growth of renewable energy. However, it was established in 1985 when solar installations consisted only of small-scale projects that could be attached to houses or buildings, rather than the large scale projects we see today. Local zoning laws help communities protect inhabitants from exploitation.
Renewable energy implementation should reduce carbon emissions, and clear cutting forests will not. The Dover Amendment is being utilized in cases like Shutesbury to prevent towns from protecting themselves from large solar companies implementing "sustainable" energy systems that, in reality, damage the local ecosystem and the climate.
LAND OWNERSHIP
COWLs is the largest landowner in Massachusetts and therefore has power in development projects like the solar array. However, land ownership does not mean that the effects of projects on the land won't 'flow downstream' (in this case, literally).
From Smart Solar Shutesbury: "The land owner, like all land owners, has the responsibility to be in the role of land steward and to take the good of the community and planet into account over personal profit. Though we are aware that the forests are privately owned by the largest landowner in Massachusetts, we are aware that there is not a single landowner in our state who can do whatever they want on their land without regard for the impact on their community. Every landowner has the responsibility to be a steward on behalf of their human and non-human community as well as for the planet."
LAWSUIT
The lawsuit against Shutesbury shows that companies are not afraid to take legal action against towns and municipalities to ensure they make profit. Lawsuits are costly in money and time, where towns are at a disadvantage.
When faced with industrial solar projects, towns should begin to prepare early for potential legal action by fundraising, discussing potential issues with legal teams, and organizing communities members to support the cause and create pressure against the lawsuit.
BYLAWS
Our town bylaws are the strongest layer of defense against corporations.
This also means that our bylaws are the biggest target for legal action or rejection.
Towns should prepare to organize to create and support stronger environmental protection bylaws and to ensure that towns remain empowered to enforce them.
LEARN MORE
6/26/23 In this video, SSS members explains the Cowls/ Amp lawsuit
3/7/22 In this video, Kate Ballentine, Wetlands ecology professor at Mt. Holyoke College discusses the effect of forest fragmentation through clear-cutting on the climate crisis.
12/12/21 In this video, speakers explain the potential impacts of industrial solar and alternatives.
4/26/22 In this video, speakers explain the plans to construct industrial solar sites in Amherst and Shutesbury