To the editor:

CVE was founded 2009 on seven key principles. Chief among these principles is to promote corporate social esponsibility, and to move forward in mutual trust in ransparency. These principles guide not only the company’s internal policies, but also our dealings with our suppliers, and the towns in which we work.

Solar energy is clean and renewable. Climate change is a global problem, but one which can have very local consequences, and southeastern Massachusetts is no exception to this. Year after year it becomes apparent that weather patterns, and the severity of storms not previously seen, are becoming common place in southeastern Maqssachusetts.

It is no secret that pollution, particularly the production of carbon from burning fossil fuels is largely to blame. The production of carbon is only one of the environmental hazards produced by using fossil fuels. Throughout the country fracking to obtain natural gas, and risky drilling for oil has devastated huge tracks of land and bodies of water, not to mention the impact it has had on communities (some of which do not have clean drinking water). This is not to mention the effects on pristine forest of running long pipelines to transport fossil fuels. The installation of local distributed generation, particularly clean, renewable, solar energy can replace these “dirty” energy forms.

It is CVE’s vision to bring the production of electricity to the communities in which the electricity is used. This creates resiliency, redundancy, and ultimately conserves land. The vast majority of properties in Massachusetts are not suitable for solar farms. The land needs to be in close proximity to three-phase power, be relatively flat, and so situated as not to cause any negative environmental impact. For these practical reasons, solar facilities like the one we have proposed on Drift Road, can only be installed on a very small proportion of Massachusetts land.

Another founding principle of CVE is that of quality. This extends to quality in the design of a solar farm that fully protects environmental resources such as wetlands, and wildlife, and most certainly to protecting public health and safety. The proposed solar farm on Drift Road has obtained approval from Westport Conservation Committee confirming that it complies with best practices in the protection of wetland resources, and stormwater management. Further, the plans for the proposed system have been reviewed and obtained a positive determination, with some suggestions for improvement which we have adopted, from an independent third-party peer reviewer hired by the Town Planning Board.

Beyond simply meeting required standards to protect public health and safety, and to preserve the environment, CVE is committed to adding additional environmental benefit. CVE has committed to building a pollinator friendly solar plant at our project in Westport. We intend to create a site that provides valuable habitat for pollinators, birds and small mammals (our fence is raised 6 inches above grade to allow for the passage of small animals).

Our desire to protect the environment includes protecting the character of the community, particularly the scenic view. The proposed array is screened by over 270 feet of mature forest (over 430 feet total) from the closest abutter other than the site owner. In addition to the existing screening we will be installing native evergreen trees around the perimeter of the fence to ensure that the aesthetic of the location will not be affected. It is worth noting that this project is on private property, and the owner could clear it or develop it for a host of other purposes many of which would have a greater impact than the proposed solar project.

The silicon solar panels we use in our projects are completely non-toxic. There are solar panels on the market made up of cadmium telluride which is toxic; however, these are not the modules we are using. Silicon solar panels are primarily composed of silicon (effectively sand), glass, plastic, and aluminum, all of which are easily recycled. Additionally, there already exists a secondary market for recycled solar panels, and it is estimated that the size of this market will have increased to $385 million by 2025.

We have conceived this project as Community Solar. Community Solar enables us to offer the electricity generated from this solar farm directly to the residents of Westport at a discount, thereby creating a truly local, truly sustainable energy solution. Community Solar allows rate payers, who pay into the funding for the state’s solar program, but whose homes are not suitable for solar, the ability to participate in the programs their money fund. These include renters, individuals’ homes that don’t have adequate roof space or orientation, or whose homes are too treed in.

The project will bring in additional revenue to the town without causing any additional strain on infrastructure, school enrollment, education budget, sewer or police.

The Drift Road solar project is good for the environment, good for the Town, and good for the Town’s people.

Alex Fox

CVE North America