I was very disturbed by this at my town's solar farms hearing

I attended a town board meeting this week to read a speech in support of proposed legislation that would make it harder for solar farms to gobble up our farmland. I did not expect this.

PART 1 of this story can be found here.

My town held a hearing this week regarding proposed legislation that makes it harder for solar empires to snatch up 50 acres or more of our farmland to convert it into a solar ‘farm.’

I attended the meeting with the following speech I drafted the night before. I am sharing it so that anyone in need of talking points or ideas for a similar speech can use it as inspiration. Feel free to copy it, even, as we need people everywhere to stand up to these solar empires.

My speech was met with mostly warm reception, and I did feel the majority of the room was in agreement with my sentiments and the proposed legislation.

However, I have major concerns following this meeting.

The town board where my farm resides did a fantastic job of developing a thorough, detailed piece of legislation that takes the following into account: pollinators, native plants, wetlands, endangered animals, and agrovoltaics as a preferred deployment of solar. I will be sharing the legislation once it becomes law.

After I stood up to give my speech to the board, I sat down and noticed a male around my age stand up with a clipboard to approach the podium.

When asked where he came from (town hearings are reserved for property owners and residents of the town), he shared that he was sent to our town board meeting on behalf of a solar company in Santa Monica, California.

That’s 3,000 miles away from my little town. Our town isn’t heavily populated. It’s in ‘the middle of nowhere’ and that’s how the farmers here like it. The town is over 3 hours away from NYC, and generally, ‘off the radar’ from anything major happening in New York State. The fact that a solar empire on the other side of the country had dispatched personnel to strike down legislation drafted for OUR town, making it easier for massive solar farms to take root on our farmland, had me horrified.

The individual proposed ‘easing the restrictions’ in the legislation to make it easier for Tier 3 solar farms (50 acres or larger) to set up shop here. He then proceeded to share data their company had collected on how many Tier 3 potential properties existed in our little town. It was the stuff of an AI nightmare.

After he was done, I was pleased with my town board letting this individual know the legislation was drafted for the RESIDENTS of this town, not for commercial exploitation.

The meeting adjourned and as we all made our way to the parking lot, this individual pulled me aside to try and present his ‘case’ to me. We engaged in lively debate for around 20-minutes. This debate opened my eyes to something: this battle for American farmland is worse than I imagined.

The individual, at first, told me that farmers in my town were calling them up asking for solar. By the end of the conversation, he admitted that no one had called, but rather, their company has approached, called, and knocked on the doors of the farmland owners here.

“We need that power whether people want to accept that or not,” he said.

He later admitted the power generated in my little town would be sent to NYC where it’s needed. We wouldn’t enjoy lower electric bills. No one would feel the benefits of this solar power here. We would instead be without the land that feeds our towns, supports our industry here, and keeps farmers in business for the generations to come.

I then proceeded to ask him why these panels can’t go between highways or be hung as solar canopies over parking lots and big box stores.

“Well the regulatory burden of getting that approved would be massive,” he said.

He then admitted that pressuring small town village boards is a much easier path to financial domination for these solar companies. It saves them money when they don’t have to wait 12 months to work through a city planning board.

Others had joined our discussion by then. People from neighboring towns to mine have since told me that these solar companies are targeting board members to sway them with backdoor deals. These companies have showed up at board members’ homes to strong-arm them into throwing out local pieces of legislation to make way for their solar empires.

Any time a corporation, backed by government grant money, is pressuring everyday people to hand over their land, the citizens of that country should be very, very concerned.

The solar ‘farm’ reality

I took a short drive yesterday to one of the many massive solar farms popping up in Upstate New York. Does this look like ‘green’ energy to you?

The panels and 8 feet tall barbed wire fences destroy pollinator and animal migrations and habitat. This particular farm extends all the way to the horizon, destroying any semblance of idyllic landscape. This was land previously used to feed cattle and humans in the area - now it’s a power-generating hellscape that’ll send its solar power to cities far away from here.

It’s no wonder solar farms bring surrounding property values down by at least 7%. If this was plopped in a parking lot or a commercial business zone, it would make more sense and cause less of a property value shake up.

This isn’t how we do business or manage properties in the country. It looks like a dystopian prison, with industrial lighting to illuminate the solar field in the evening, destroying all moth, firefly, etc. habitat.

Our discussion in the parking lot came to an end when I pushed placing the panels in already commercialized places. I am sure that won’t be the last time I exchange words with minions sent from a solar empire to my little town.

There may be additional hearings to come regarding my town’s legislation. I will absolutely be in attendance with more speeches drafted. I could write about this all day! Once our farmland is gone… it’s gone forever. Now is the time to do something about it.

I will be diligently reporting on my town’s battle with solar farms, as well as the nationwide land grab that’s part of the ‘$24 trillion dollars worth of farmland changing hands as farmers retire today.’ I wholeheartedly believe we need to get this land into the hands of everyday people - NOT solar conglomerates backed by state ‘green’ grant money.

If you have not read my first piece on this solar farms battle, I encourage you to do so. I break down my argument for why we can put solar panels in smarter places. I will include it below with further reading pieces for all those interested and invested in this nefarious land grab.

I cover my own experience buying law rand, turning it into a pollinator farm, land loans, and loopholes here on my substack. I hope to be a resource to anyone wanting to do the same.

FURTHER READING

Cheers.