Solar Farms Opportunity or Threat?

Solar Farms: Opportunity for Renewable Energy Options and Financial Gain or a Threat to Food Security and Local Economies?

Chances are you’ve taken a drive through the countryside somewhere in the Northeast and seen a solar farm — dozens and dozens of huge solar panels lined up in neat rows in open fi elds soaking up the sun. Dairy farms, often pointed to as major sources of greenhouse gas emissions, have become major players in this growing source of renewable energy that harnesses the sun’s rays using a complex photovoltaic system that typically supplies commercial power into the electricity grid. The concept is not without controversy, however. Those in favor of this type of technology see harnessing solar to create energy as a no-brainer for surrounding communities and the nation, as a whole. In some cases, this allows farmers to create their own power, thus decreasing energy costs on the farm. In other cases, it allows struggling farms to stay in business by leasing some or all of their land to companies looking for places to erect solar farms. Others, however, aren’t quite sure, with community members sometimes citing the solar farms as an eyesore and others wondering whether the benefi ts outweigh the impact that the loss of farmland has on food production and local economies. As the push for renewable energy sources and the struggle to keep farms going strong continue, the following articles present some of the facts related to both sides of the story.

SOLAR FARMS PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR DAIRY FARMS

Solar energy isn’t new, but it has become much more mainstream as Americans look for more reliable renewable energy sources. In New York State, for example, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act calls for installing 6,000 megawatts of solar by 2025 and has some of the most rigorous goals of any major economy in the world, according to climate.ny.gov. Similar initiatives are taking place in other states, as well. In April, President Joseph R. Biden announced a target for the U.S. to achieve a 50% to 52% reduction in greenhouse gas pollution by 2030. While some of these plans are purely focused on the environment, others, like solar projects, are intended to make economic sense, with benefi ts to businesses and homeowners alike, that can lower electric bills, offer tax credits and off-set utility cost.

According to Goldman Sachs, the demand for solar energy has essentially tripled over the past seven years, as more and more businesses are committing to becoming net carbon

neutral. Amazon, for example, recently pledged to reach net zero emissions by 2040 and use 100% renewable energy by 2030. Other major players are prompting a growing consumer demand, as well.

The dairy industry is both benefitting and contributing to the increased use of solar energy. Farmland, including both agricultural and dairy, is attractive to solar developers, as it is typically already cleared, relatively flat and easily accessible. Farmland is more desirable than barren land, as it is typically moist, which is an important part of making solar panels work efficiently through the cooling effects of water vapor. In addition, good quality land used for agriculture is historically accessible to the necessary infrastructure like roads and powerlines, which are important criterion for solar developers. This is a boon to farmers looking to sell or lease land for a profit. According to greencoast.org, the U.S. is the fourth largest solar producer in the world, which means land leasing rates have skyrocketed.

Farms can benefit in a couple of ways. One, they can invest in their own solar panels in an effort to meet energy needs on the farm, consequently reducing energy costs dramatically. Power from solar can keep an entire farm operating — from lighting and refrigeration to running water pumps and powering electric fences. While there is a significant initial investment to the farmers, many incentives are available, and the long term energy costs can save a typical farm tens of thousands of dollars annually. Often times, farms will produce more energy than they can actually use, particularly as most energy use takes place during the day. In this case, farms can also profit by selling excess power to local utility companies.

Another option is for farms to lease land to solar developers to host a commercial solar farm. In this instance, developers rent land at a fixed rate from the farmers, and both the farms and the developers share in the revenue produced by the electricity sales. This is also a viable option for those farmers who can no longer afford to remain in business or are deeply in debt. Leasing their land can often help them maintain the long history of a family farm at a time when dairy farming can be economically challenging. Even farms that are holding their own can use solar energy to increase the long-term value of their farms, as those using clean energy are proven to be more attractive to potential buyers.

According to the Word Bank’s Global Solar Atlas, which provides a calculator to determine how much solar energy can be produced when given a certain measurement of land, a 125-acre, 18 megawatt solar farm in the Northeast has a photovoltaic power output of 22,519,000 kWh per year. That’s enough energy to power about 3,000 residential homes and would yield approximately $1.1 million annually in revenue from electricity sales, which, in most of the Northeast, runs about 5 cents per kWh. (According to World Bank calculations, solar farms in the Southwest and across the Atlantic coast can generate up to 50% more electricity per acre due to more optimal weather conditions.)

Solar farms and their equipment generally last 20 to 25 years. But the good news for farmers is that the land used for solar farms can be converted back to agricultural use at any time. The timeframe of use for a solar farm often gives the farmland a chance to recover, which makes for a richer and more valuable soil later on. While all of this is good news for the dairy industry, there are those who believe that solar projects are depleting the availability of land to produce food, which could, in the long term, interfere with food security, so the topic is not without controversy.

Of course, who knows what great innovations may come along in the coming years to further harness the power of the sun, but it’s important to know that existing solar farms and the equipment involved to keep them running do not harm the land but instead seem to only increase its value on many levels.