The Hidden Costs of Solar Delay

John Pepi built a narrated talk from the group’s forest-and-solar work. It runs twenty-one minutes. He rebuilt the emissions factor on August 6, 2026 and re-recorded again on August 10, revising the slide on the land Massachusetts uses beyond its own borders. The presentation page carries the August 10 version.

The talk traces one scenario. Massachusetts protects forest land but builds solar too slowly to meet its climate plan. The state pays twice. It burns more fossil fuel for power now, and its forests carry a larger carbon debt later. The talk puts numbers on a 20 percent solar shortfall from 2026 to 2050, in lost clean electricity, in unbudgeted emissions, and in a forest acreage figure for the resulting carbon debt.

Watch the presentation. The page has the video and a full transcript. It also carries John’s own statement of methodology and his calculation worksheets.