The Clinton Administration formulated the visionary “Brightfields” concept to address three major challenges facing the nation and its cities: urban revitalization, brownfields remediation, and global climate change. With much fanfare, the “Brightfields” model was hailed in the environmental community as a revolutionary concept to sustainably redevelop brownfields. The term “brightfields was defined as “the conversion of contaminated sites into usable land by bringing pollution-free solar energy and high-tech solar manufacturing jobs to these sites, including the placement of photovoltaic arrays that can reduce cleanup costs, building integrated solar energy systems as part of redevelopment, and solar manufacturing plants on brownfields.” This promising program was launched in August 1999 and quickly sought out by communities seeking sustainable brownfields redevelopment strategies.

Despite the popularity of the program in concept, in reality, very few “Brownfields to Brightfields” initiatives ultimately have been implemented. The Chicago Brightfields program is the only one to begin to achieve most of the program's potential (site cleanup, PV manufacturing and jobs, and PV installation), but it has faltered. Spire Corporation, the PV manufacturer, relocated its manufacturing facility from Chicago to its Massachusetts headquarters. The Eco-industrial park in Cape Charles, VA is another example, but it succeeded through support from agencies outside DOE. The City of San Diego dropped its initiative in 2002. A few communities have implemented small-scale Brightfields projects by placing photovoltaics on the rooftops of buildings placed on remediated sites. While rooftop solar is a positive feature for a redeveloped brownfield, it falls short of the program's overall promise. The only community nationwide to continue in its efforts to site a large-scale photovoltaic array on a brownfield is Brockton, Massachusetts. After five years of feasibility studies and predevelopment work, the project is close to installation. The barriers communities face in implementing these projects are significant, and in many cases outweigh the benefits.

Given the promise and initial enthusiastic response to the program, why didn't more communities take advantage of it? Why did most of the communities that did get started ultimately abandon the programs? Why is Brockton the only city moving forward with a large photovoltaic array? There are lessons to be learned from Brockton's experience that are relevant to other local governments as well as state and federal policy-makers. This project analyzes the case of Brockton, Massachusetts in developing a photovoltaic array on a 27-acre brownfield on Grove Street. The project addresses several questions, including:

1.       Why did Brockton choose to pursue the Brightfields concept?

2.       What steps did the City need to take to implement the project?

3.       What barriers did it face and how did it overcome them?

4.       What barriers remain and what must the city do to address them?

5.       What lessons can other communities learn from Brockton's experience?

6.       What lessons can state and federal policy makers learn from Brockton's experience?

7.       What changes are necessary at the state and Federal level to foster development of future Brightfields?