MB Civic

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http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2006/10/27/baard/index.html

Rather than convert its remaining brownfields into tire recycling plants or tow lots, the city this week introduced the nation’s largest “brightfield” — a 3.7-acre lot filled with 1,395 solar panels arranged in neat, long rows. The panels are rooted in busted-up rocks that cover the coal tar and ash from a 19th-century gasworks facility. Amidst the old industrial buildings that comprise much of Brockton’s Ward Four, they almost appear to be of alien origin…

…By providing enough juice for about 71 homes annually, the brightfield will earn Brockton about $130,000 each year…

…the project also illustrates that local communities and states are driving the development of large-scale renewable projects, says Alan Nogee, director of the clean-energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. “The federal government is lagging far behind in support for these projects,” he says.

How bout some “earmarks” for solar installations instead of some new highway monstrosity.
-MAB