Density without infrastructure, the Neversource saga.

This is a copy of the a letter from  the East Cambridge Planning Team and the Linden Park Neighborhood Association.  
Show your support, sign the petition :    CLICK HERE

We Must Act to Stop the Eversource High Voltage Substation
Across from the Kennedy-Longfellow School

Earlier this year, residents in the East Cambridge and Linden Park neighborhoods were shocked to learn that Eversource intended to build a high voltage electrical substation across from the Kennedy-Longfellow elementary school (where 58% of the students are from low-income families) on Fulkerson Street and near a park and two neighborhoods:
Eversource Substation Location

A substation, among other things, transforms high voltage electricity from power generators to low voltage electricity then transmitted to homes, businesses, and other users. This station—a potential monster of a structure—is entirely inappropriate. Eversource must find an alternative solution.

1.   Background on the substation and its location
The land for the station originally belonged to Cabot, Cabot, and Forbes, who had intended to build housing on the site. Eversource purchased the property in early 2017 using a shell company as the listed buyer on the deed. Curiously, Cabot continued to seek permits for the housing for months after the purchase.
Based on a review of public filings and statements made at Council hearings, Eversource claims it has known about the need for a station since at least 2013. So why it waited until 2019 to disclose this station publicly is a mystery.

2. This is an environmental justice issue.
In the past ten years, the City has permitted millions of square feet of extra density, principally to commercial buildings and lab space. Commercial real estate developers and MIT took full advantage of the bonanza and have reaped billions in profits and increased property values. Eversource claims that the primary reason for this station is to serve 100 megawatts of expected new demand from this development—a far cry from the net-zero goals supposedly championed by the City. Like many others, we support reasonable development in Kendall Square and recognize the benefit to our neighborhoods. However, that development has also come with a hidden cost, as the buildings now need a mega electrical substation to power them. As one City Councilor put it at a hearing, it is “immoral” to let the commercial developers and MIT receive the benefit, while the nearby residents and children of Kennedy-Longfellow bear the costs. It’s just wrong.
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3. Significant health and safety concerns
Electric stations emit electromagnetic radiation. While Eversource insists that there are no adverse health effects from this radiation, the science is in dispute, and we are aware of no study testing the long-term effects on children from prolonged exposure (though “children are regarded as being more vulnerable to the effects of environmental exposures, including electromagnetic fields”). 
What is undisputed is that substations sometimes cause explosions. Moreover, when there is an explosion, it can be significant. For example, a fire at a New York City substation in December 2018 caused this “electrical arc flash.”:
Electrical Arc Flash from NYC December 2018 Substation Fire

Similar events occurred in 2011 in Fort Worth, Texas, and again in New York City in 2012 during Hurricane Sandy.

4. The substation could tower over the residences and school
Eversource has thus far declined to disclose the height. It has said that other stations in urban areas range between 80-100 feet, and Eversource claims that this station could be twice as big. (Notably, none of these other stations is in a residential neighborhood located next to a school). These comments and information from other sources indicate that this station could be 150 feet tall.
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5. The substation could tower over the residences and school
Eversource has given scant detail on the size or appearance of the building but provided this image at a hearing in May:

Eversource has thus far declined to disclose the height. It has said that other stations in urban areas range between 80-100 feet, and Eversource claims that this station could be twice as big. (Notably, none of these other stations is in a residential neighborhood located next to a school). These comments and information from other sources indicate that this station could be 150 feet tall:
Renderings of Possible Substation Size:
View from Kennedy-Longfellow
View Towards Kendall Square​​

6. We must act now to have any chance at a better solution
The substation is now at a critical moment. In response to opposition from residents, the City Manager’s Office, and the Council, Eversource has agreed to consider—but not commit to—alternate sites. It has self-imposed a deadline of this fall to find a new location, or it will forge ahead with its station at Fulkerson. We must work together now if we are to avoid this calamity.
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Until Eversource finds a suitable alternative, we will never give up this fight—for our neighbors, our children, and our City. We hope you will stand with us.

This is a copy of the a letter from  the East Cambridge Planning Team and the Linden Park Neighborhood Association.  
Show your support, sign the petition :    CLICK HERE