BRIGHTFIELDS FROM BROWNFIELDS: HOPE

Brightfields Provide New Hope
May 17, 2007 (UPI)

WHO
Local and state governments in Brockton, Mass., in conjunction with global environmental services provider ENSR
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WHAT
The government/business combination has created a set of financial motivations to turn “brownfields” into solar farms.

WHEN
The Brockton Brightfield is presently in operation.

WHERE
Brockton is in eastern Massachusetts, south of Boston and north of Pawtuckett.

WHY
- Brownfields are abandoned industrial sites sitiing idle and wasted.
By installing a photovoltaic array (to capture solar energy and turn it into electricity) in a brownfield, the useless space becomes a power generating station, a “brightfield,” so to speak. The Brockton, Mass., "Brightfield" project is the first and largest utility-scale solar photovoltaic array system in New England and the largest such project in the United States.
- The project Brockton project puts enough electricity into the grid to power City Hall and a portion of the police station annually, a significant contribution to the community's economic development strategy. It also eliminates the generation of 590,000 pounds of CO2/year.

QUOTES
Brockton Mayor James Harrington: "The Brockton Brightfield was built thanks to an extraordinary partnership between government agencies, nonprofit organizations and businesses…"