The Massachusetts Pollinator Network is asking you to comment in support of a little-known Massachusetts program that offers a small incentive for large-scale solar facilities to use pollinator-friendly plants in and around the solar arrays instead of the typical turf grass seeding (the “Pollinator Adder”). The Pollination Adder has already incentivized over 600 acres of pollinator-friendly habitat and could cover much more. Unfortunately, the Dept of Public Utilities issued a decision in December that would effectively end the program.
The Pollinator Adder needs our help by Wednesday, Feb. 2.
There are different views within the NOFA and MAPN communities about agrivoltaics. Many are concerned about siting large-scale solar on open space. Support of the Pollinator Adder would not be an endorsement of the SMART program’s other incentive structures nor an endorsement of agrisolar. It would be an endorsement of a program that incentivizes the creation of habitat on already-permitted solar fields over less productive status-quo ground cover choices, including turf grass, fescue, or even gravel. Letters can be customized to emphasize this point!
MAPN have set up an online letter campaign to make it easy for you to send a letter of support for the Pollinator Adder to DPU and other decision-influencers:
Click here.
Please note:
We strongly recommend customizing letters, as these will carry more weight than a series of form letters.
If you are sending a letter on behalf of an organization or community group, be sure to make this clear in the letter.