Electricity is a clean, renewable form of energy; we create it by leveraging what is all around us – sunlight. It’s a proven technology having been around for decades. It’s also an industry that continues to innovate, trying new designs, using more efficient materials, and developing better storage. And, it is a great use of land that can’t be used for anything else. More and more funding is being invested into the industry so its future is secure.
It’s also why brownfields are so perfect for solar farms. The Environmental Protection Agency, which has an office devoted to brownfield redevelopment, estimates there are more than 450,000 brownfield properties in the U.S. These range from abandoned factory sites to corner gas stations and dry cleaners. There is also excellent technical assistance for brownfield remediation and development. Ohio is in Region 5, and you can learn more at their website.
Federal dollars for solar in Ohio. The federal government has released $156 million funding for Ohio solar as a part of a new “Solar for All” program. It is an excellent time to consider solar as an solution to unproductive land.
“The Ohio SFA Program will provide strategic deployment of solar-related upgrades through a series of funding models administered by Ohio Air Quality Development Authority and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. The program will create opportunities for Ohio’s residential customers in low- to moderate-income households and disadvantaged communities, achieve meaningful energy savings, relieve high levels of energy burden, and improve air quality and economic prosperity in traditionally underserved areas of Ohio. The program’s financial models will provide flexibility for Ohio families to access solar, whether they own their home or rent, and can be leveraged to mobilize private capital as part of the long-lasting design and delivery. The state’s desired outcomes is to maximize the number of underserved households being reached with clean energy generation, while delivering the highest cost savings possible and sustaining the funds to increase the impact of the SFA program for years to come.”
– EPA Solar for All
“The Solar for All program is a monumental $7 billion investment to enable low-income and disadvantaged communities to deploy and benefit from distributed solar energy. The program is designed to deliver on the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollution, save communities money on their utility bills, create high-quality jobs, and mobilize financing to stimulate the deployment of more residential solar projects.”
–EPA Solar for All
Energy Communities. Another positive twist for brownfield sites! “As defined by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service, an “energy community” is an area with brownfield sites; within a census track where a coal mine closed after 1999 or a coal-fired power plant was retired after 2009; or an area where the unemployment rate is at or above the national average for the previous year and has 0.17% or more direct employment related to oil, coal or natural gas or has 25% or greater local tax revenues related to oil, coal or natural gas.” A designated energy community can foster an Investment Tax Credit of 10% for the landowner.
Is solar energy dangerous? Does it cause the ground to become sterile or kill nearby animals? A resounding absolutely not is the answer, fortunately. Research and decades of experience have taught us that solar is safe to live near and harness, and truly remarkable as a source of clean energy. And, as in any construction project, mitigation for runoff, soil compaction, and any other normal construction issues are addressed when developing a solar farm. Our focus is on solar farm development when housing, farming or other kinds of development are not appropriate. Read more here “Solar Farms and Biodiversity – Time to Debunk Some Myths.”
What about turning farmland into solar farms? To be clear, we do not seek out farmland for our solar farms. We’ve focused on brownfields as our target land type, but it’s an interesting conversation. Here’s a debate we read, and it’s worth sharing here:
“If a farmer wishes to sell their land for profit to a solar company, and we block them from doing it, they’re going to sell it to a developer. If we decide we want to farm that land again someday, because we still need food, it will be MUCH easier to remove a bunch of solar panels than it will be to remove homes, schools, and industrial parks. Think of solar farms like a “hold” on the farming, rather than losing it forever.”
“Another thing to keep in mind is that almost all special use permits usually requires solar developers to have a decommissioning plan in place in which THEY must restore the land back to its original state. Solar developers often also provide the town a bond/surety in which they can use to decom it themselves if developers abandon the project.”
“It is also very common that developer use leases with the local farmers instead of purchasing so the land will go back to locals in the town. They will pay them an annual amount for the life of the project which is typically 25-35 years. This is fixed income for the farmer that is not weather dependent which can boost their farming operations or fund their retirement.”
– Debate at a solar conference, 2022