For the past 2 years, I have worked for a company that develops, owns and operates solar projects. Given that, I have stayed away discussing energy & climate issues in these commentaries to avoid any appearance of conflict. However, after the recent Merrimack Valley Gas Fires took the life Leonel Rondon, injured dozens others, left thousands without heat and hot water and caused millions of damage, I felt compelled to write.
So let me start with this disclaimer, if my company never built another project in Massachusetts, I would still believe the following. Massachusetts has been among the leading states on addressing climate change. Thanks to the leadership of Governor Patrick and a broad, supportive coalition Massachusetts broke free of the tired old debate that pitted protecting the environment against growing the economy. We lead, and still lead, the nation in energy efficiency. We have seen solar energy grow over 800X since 2007 and its poised to double again. We launched a revolution in energy storage and offshore wind. We have lead the nation. But being better than bad isn’t good enough. Our goal is to solve the problem. We have done a great deal to reduce our impact on climate and in the course created tens of thousands of jobs across the state.
Often times, in the State Senate, while debating climate change and energy policy, I found myself on the defensive when proposing a change to promote clean energy, efficiency and conservation. The Merrimack Valley Gas Fires are a reminder that what we should really be asking ourselves is how do we justify the present? Knowing what we we know about climate change, given the positive economic benefits we have seen from supporting clean energy, and given the threat that comes from relying on an old fossil fuel infrastructure with little oversight and companies with less incentives to invest in maintenance, how do we justify not doing more? How do we justify a response to the problem that doesn’t recognize the magnitude of what is in front of us. The honest answer is we take comfort in doing a little better than others who are doing even less or nothing at all. As long as that is the least common denominator we revert to, the risk for more Merrimack Valley gas fires will remain.
The hopeful alternative is that our policy makers recognize that the public is supportive of the bold steps needed to ensure a clean break from the past. Every time Massachusetts has set a goal or benchmark, in efficiency, solar production, the cost of offshore wind or other climate target, we have blown past it. The technology is there, the public support is there. All of the pieces are there for Massachusetts to not just lead the way to a better tomorrow, but to get there, today. The Merrimack Valley Gas Fires were not an accident, they were the result of a dangerous over reliance on fossil fuels and a dismissal of their true costs. Costs that far outweigh the costs of an immediate transition to a clean energy future. We can have that safer, more secure future, today. All that is missing is leadership.
Ben Downing represented the westernmost district in the Massachusetts Senate from 2006 to 2016. He is currently a vice president at Nexamp, a Massachusetts-based solar energy company, and an adjunct faculty member at Tufts University.
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