Holyoke, Massachusetts, is a small city that has witnessed significant social, economic, and environmental changes. Energy systems, too, have been transformed, shaped by environmental injustices, community resistance, and disinvestment. Within this context, the Holyoke Community Energy Project emerged as an open platform, inviting local residents to build shared knowledge about energy systems and explore pathways to a decarbonized future.
The four-year project offers a space for community members, many of whom have historically been excluded from energy-related decision-making, to engage, share experiences, and voice their needs for a just energy transition. Funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this project is a partnership between the UMass Amherst Energy Transition Institute (ETI), Neighbor to Neighbor Holyoke, and OneHolyoke Community Development Corporation (CDC). The goal is to ensure the benefits of this transition are accessible to all.
In the spring of 2024, the team recruited the first cohort of Energy Justice Leaders. From April to October, these leaders gathered monthly for workshops covering topics like personal and community energy use, the relationship between health and wellbeing with energy access and quality, efficient and less polluting technologies, and community-driven energy solutions. They also delved into the history of energy systems and activism in Holyoke.
Using anthropological research methods, the Energy Justice Leaders strengthen their collective knowledge about the challenges of the energy transition and the potential of collective actions to address them. This presentation will share an overview of the journey and engage attendees in one of the Energy Justice Leaders activities that was intended to support them in envisioning a just energy transition in Holyoke. Attendees will be asked to consider and arrange energy transition action cards on different scales (e.g., individual to collective benefits) in a facilitated discussion. The activity ends with a conversation on concrete next steps associated with each action.
