In one of the quiet nooks of Massachusetts whose farmland and pasturage makes you forget that Boston is only a short drive away, a solar panel manufacturing facility has had an unexpected effect on the community: noise pollution. Neighbors of Evergreen Solar’s facility in Harvard, MA are up in arms about a level of noise produced by the factory that they say is both constant and intolerable. 

The Boston Herald reports:

The Devens Enterprise Commission, which regulates the plant and other businesses on what used to be Fort Devens, has already slapped the company with two noise ordinance violations.

“This green-energy company has polluted the neighborhood with noise, and it seems not to be working very hard to correct this,” Perry said.

Evergreen spokesman Chris Lawson disagreed and, after downplaying the noise problem, said the company is “really fully committed to working with the community.”

But that’s not enough for neighbors, who initially thought the noise was related to the massive plant’s construction, which began last July. By January, however, nearby residents realized the noise stemmed from the manufacturing process and began complaining.

“Imagine tuning your radio to a station that gets only static,” said Jay Wallace, co-owner of Dunroven Farm. “Then imagine having to listen to that 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That’s what we are living with.”

Since the neighbors complained, the company has installed sound-dampening devices, replaced defective blower units, and changed its gas delivery schedules, Lawson said. The company has also hired a noise consultant.

But neighbors say the noise problem hasn’t gotten any better and that could mean trouble for Evergreen.

It sounds like Evergreen Solar is trying pretty hard to address the community’s concerns, but either not hard enough, or there is simply no way to fully solve the problem. Beyond the commitment to clean energy represented by the facility, the Devens plant is a great economic resource for the community and could seriously grow in the future. What do you think, Constant Reader? Do the benefits of a high-profile clean tech facility outweight the detriment is seems to be causing to residents’ quality of life? Harvard residents could deny Evergreen permanent residency permit until the noise pollution problem is resolved, which could present a very serious roadblock to both Evergreen and to Massachusetts’ public sentiment towards solar.

Inside the solar manufacturing facilities at Evergreen Solar, Devens