WM Solar Forum Session 4: Perspectives on Solar

Agenda and Recording

Time topic/perspective speakers
12:00 – 12:15  Welcome, Logistics, Introduction to Session  Moderator: Mindy Domb, MA State Representative, Third Hampshire District  
12:15 – 12:25  State Legislature  Representative Jeff Roy, TUE Committee Chair
12:25 – 12:35 State Agency  Ashley Randle, MDAR Commissioner 
12:35 – 12:45  Legal Perspective  Courtney Feeley Karp, Klavens Law Group 
12:45 – 12:55  Massachusetts-Based Small Solar Installer  Claire Chang, Greenfield Solar 
12:55 – 1:05  Massachusetts-Based Large Solar Developer  Kelley Fike, Nexamp 
1:05 – 1:30 Municipal Officials 

Shaun Suhoski, Town Administrator, Town of Athol; STAM  

Michael DeChiara, Planning Board, Town of Shutesbury 
1:30 – 1:40 BREAK  
1:40 – 1:55  Grassroots Organization Opposing Large-Scale Solar  Jill Buchanan, Smart Solar Shutesbury 
1:55 – 2:05  Large Solar Host Landowner Cinda Jones, Cowls 
2:05 – 2:15  Land Trust Aaron Nelson, Mt. Grace Land Trust
2:15 – 2:25 Agricultural NGO  Margaret Christie, CISA
2:25 – 2:40  Community Solar Developer Steph Speirs, Solstice 
2:40 – 2:50  Environmental NGO  John Rogers, Union of Concerned Scientists 
2:50 – 3:00  Feedback and Wrap Up  Moderator: Mindy Domb 

Presentations

Related Documents

Speakers

Moderator: Mindy Domb, MA State Representative, Third Hampshire District, is the State Representative for the 3rd Hampshire District, which includes the town of Amherst and half of the town of Granby. She is in her third term and serves as the House Chair of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development. She is grateful to the Clean Energy Extension for their leadership and willingness to support our communities to participate in solar development decisions.

  • Representative Jeff Roy, TUE Committee Chair, was first elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives for the 10th Norfolk District in 2012. It is his great honor and privilege to represent the residents of Franklin and Medway on Beacon Hill. He was appointed Chairperson of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy. He is the House-Chair of the Manufacturing Caucus, which promotes and encourages “Making It” in Massachusetts. In 2011, he was elected to the Town Council in Franklin, Massachusetts. In January 2012, he was selected to chair the town’s Master Plan Committee. Prior to that, he served on the School Committee and served as its Chairperson for 9 of his 10 years of service with that board. He also co-chaired Franklin’s Anti-Bullying Task Force. He has worked as an attorney in Massachusetts since 1986 and operates a law firm, Roy Law, in Franklin, Massachusetts. The firm is dedicated to vindicating the rights and expectations of consumers injured at home, work, or play. He has represented clients at all levels of the trial and appellate courts in Massachusetts. In addition, he has appeared in cases before the New Hampshire Supreme Court and Superior Court, the Federal District Courts of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, the Rhode Island Superior Court, Colorado Superior Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. He is also a member of the American Association for Justice (AAJ) and the Massachusetts Bar Association. He is also a bicycle rider in the annual Pan-Mass Challenge event, which raises money for the Jimmy Fund.
  • Ashley Randle, MDAR Commissioner, a fifth-generation dairy farmer, Ashley E. Randle was sworn in as the twenty-first Commissioner by Governor Maura T. Healey on March 6, 2023. She is the first woman to lead the Department and assumed the role after having served as Deputy Commissioner/Legislative and Policy Director since October 2018.
  • Courtney Feeley Karp, Klavens Law Group, serves as senior counsel of Klavens Law Group, P.C. She brings an insider’s knowledge of Massachusetts clean energy programs from her years serving as counsel for the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) in the Renewable Energy and Green Communities Division, as well as for the Massachusetts Senate Ways and Means Committee. She assists clients in understanding and leveraging federal and state renewable energy incentives, drafts and negotiates a broad range of energy transaction documents, and advises clients on asset management strategies, including ongoing relationships with off-takers and utilities.
  • Claire Chang, Greenfield Solar, an installer of residential and small commercial solar PV systems throughout the Pioneer Valley since 2009, working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide access to 100% renewable energy generation is my focus and motivation. I participate in the Commonwealth's climate and solar legislation and policies to ensure equity access for all.
  • Kelley Fike, Nexamp, a professional civil engineer with 5+ years of solar industry experience. She is a Western Mass resident and worked with the UMass Clean Energy Extension to get the first pollinator site certified in Massachusetts. She is deeply grateful for the opportunity to help drive a clean energy future for the next generation.
  • Shaun Suhoski, Town Administrator, Town of Athol; STAM, has nearly 30 years of public-sector experience as chief administrative officer and in community and economic development. Mr. Suhoski holds a juris doctorate from New England Law - Boston and a bachelor's degree from Fitchburg State University.
  • Michael DeChiara, Planning Board, Town of Shutesbury, lives in Shutesbury, MA – a rural town of 1,700. He is the primary author of the last three versions of the town’s solar bylaw, including the 2023 bylaw that passed with near unanimous consent. He is the Chair of the Shutesbury Energy and Climate Action Committee. Michael is also the moving force behind bills before the legislature to modify state law to allow municipalities to reasonably regulate large-scale solar development. Almost 45 years ago, as a college freshman, Michael wrote an essay on solar energy, and in the 1980s and 1990s, worked with Greenpeace as the organization began to focus on fossil fuels and atmospheric damage. It has been a long road watching the evolution of the climate crisis; unfortunately, the challenges of changing policy continue.
  • Jill Buchanan, Smart Solar Shutesbury, has over 25 years of experience as a communications leader in nonprofit and higher education institutions. She is a clean energy advocate in her town of Shutesbury, MA, and beyond.
  • Cinda Jones, Cowls, is a community investor and environmental steward. She appreciates the opportunity and responsibility she has in this generation to assure sustainability for her family business and the planet. Cinda's focus has been managing working forests, conserving thousands of acres of land, and hosting solar.
  • Aaron Nelson, Mt. Grace Land Trust, is a Project Manager at Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust, a regional land trust which serves 23 towns in north central Massachusetts, where he works directly with landowners, municipalities, and other partners to protect significant agricultural, natural, and scenic lands. He received his B.A. in International Affairs from George Washington University, with a concentration in International Environmental Studies. Aaron grew up and lives in Ashfield, MA, and currently serves as the chair of Ashfield's Conservation Commission.
  • Margaret Christie, CISA, CISA's Special Projects Director, is instrumental in new project development at CISA, including building CISA's Climate Program and supporting the growth of infrastructure and services for local food and farm businesses. She served as CISA’s Executive Director from 1997-1999, when the Local Hero program was launched. Prior to joining CISA, Margaret worked for the University of Massachusetts Integrated Pest Management Program and the Northeast Organic Farmers Association, Massachusetts chapter. She has a master’s degree in Rural Sociology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a bachelor’s degree in sustainable agriculture from The Evergreen State College.
  • Steph Speirs, Solstice, is the Co-Founder and CEO at Solstice, which connects households and businesses to community solar farms and clean energy. Steph serves on the Board of Directors of the Sierra Club Foundation, Clean Energy for America, and Vote Solar, the Advisory Boards of the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, and the Climate Council for Bloomberg’s New Economy Forum. She previously deployed solar microgrids, lanterns, and home systems in India and Pakistan. She was selected as EY New England’s Entrepreneur of the Year, C3E’s Entrepreneur Award, Inc Magazine’s Female Founder 100, and Elle’s US Woman Entrepreneur of the Year. She holds degrees from Yale, Princeton, and MIT.
  • John Rogers, Union of Concerned Scientists, is a senior energy analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists, with expertise in clean energy technologies and policies, and a focus on solar and wind. He serves on the boards of directors of RENEW Northeast and the Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute. Prior to joining UCS in 2006, John had worked for 15 years on private and public clean energy initiatives internationally, including promoting solar in unelectrified rural areas of Latin America as a US Peace Corps Volunteer. He earned a bachelor’s degree at Princeton University and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan.

Session Q&A / Comments

The following are questions received from Attendees during Session 4. These questions have been shared with Session 4 speakers to inform them of the engagement and issues of interest to the community. We are not asking or expecting the speakers to offer direct answers to these questions. The Clean Energy Extension and our partners are also using these questions to inform the agenda for the anticipated Part II of the forum in 2024. Thank you for these questions.

  1. In Session 1, we heard the state will use some of the federal money to develop a bylaw template, vetted by the AGO's office, to guide towns in drafting solar bylaws that meet the state's goal. Who is tasked with that work? Has that been started?
  2. Existing ASTGU Guideline Language: Revised April 12, 2022: 1.2) No newly created farmland footprint shall be a result of the clearing or conversion of forest land. Commissioner Randle: From our experience, since 2011, farmers have always wanted to use their least productive land on their farm for solar development on their property. This rockier, sloped, or treed land is currently not farmed. If there are farmland soils, on the land intended to be used for dual-use ASTGU projects, will MDAR support the cutting of trees and use of less productive land not currently farmed?
  3. The MA Attorney General recently rejected all or parts of several western MA town solar bylaws (Shutesbury, Pelham, Wendell). Has there been discussion or forums planned to help these and other towns understand the AG decisions?
  4. Why on Earth would one of the presenters claim the climate emergency is not a health issue??
  5. I also wanted to send my regards to all who participated in the production of this event. Will recommend to all Division members at DOER.

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