Location: Massachusetts

Salem Alliance for the Environment is a volunteer organization fighting the climate crisis and working for a sustainable future for Salem, MA. This resource documents the development of Offshore Wind and a Community Benefits Agreements (CBA) in Salem.

From our July 2025 study with The Alliance for Climate Transition (ACT), we found that residents in the US Northeast have little familiarity with Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), but are intrigued by the technology when it is framed around improved electricity reliability and lower utility bills. However, those perceptions are endangered by concerns that BESS may endanger their homes or entail high upfront installation costs.

In a poll of several coastal states, voters are increasingly backing offshore wind as energy demand spikes from AI and data centers. When asked why they support offshore wind, voters cite price stabilization (35%), pollution reduction (35%), and energy independence (31%) as key benefits. The findings coincide with growing awareness that sharply rising electricity demand makes it more important than ever to foster viable new sources of electricity

This report shares findings from a joint study of community benefit plans (CBPs) made by utilities and developers. RMI and the University of Minnesota (UMN) Center for Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy (CSTEP) collaborated on the research and analysis.