You don't have to sit there and take it: my town said NO to big solar this week

My town passed well-researched legislation this week that makes it harder for far-away solar developers to come in and snatch up our arable farmland. Other towns can fight back, too.

A vote was held in the Town of Saratoga, New York, this week regarding a proposed Solar Energy Facilities Law. It’s a comprehensive piece of legislation that factors in all parties impacted when a far-away solar company comes to a small village and sets up a solar ‘farm’ on 100+ acres.

Yesterday I learned that the vote went in favor of the legislation, which means it’s now law and in effect for the area where my farm resides.

This is big.

This means towns across the country have the local ability to stop these solar industrial complexes that are propped up with state funding and grant money set aside for ‘green’ energy projects.

Here’s what big solar companies will now have to navigate when trying to snatch up more of the farmland in my town.

Pollinator and animal habitat consideration

Solar companies will have to factor in pollinator and animal migratory disruptions when developing out their solar complex plans. Environmental engineers will be hired to survey the area and draft reports about the plants, animals, and pollinators found in the region. Any endangered or threatened habitat or species will flag the project for immediate review.

Native habitat will be required around and under the panels that are installed. The companies will not be allowed to flatten the land without a vegetation restoration plan. Developers will also have to implement stormwater management, erosion control, and pre AND post construction ecological monitoring to ensure the native habitats are preserved.

Increased setbacks and farm preservation

My town is located within a New York State agricultural region, which is one of the reasons why I bought my land where I did. There are active farms in every direction - it’s what makes the town amazing.

In order to protect the existing farms and surrounding areas, significant setback requirements are now mandated for solar ‘farms.’ If the solar complexes will impact the farming occurring next door or nearby in any way, they will not be permitted.

Quality of life considerations

Solar complexes make a lot of noise. If you’ve never been near one, you might not realize the machinery, batteries, panels, etc. make a significant amount of unnerving noise and humming late into the night. It’s one of the most common complaints from people who end up next door to a complex they didn’t agree to.

My town will require minimum noise that, at the very least, does not disrupt any neighboring properties, as well as requirements for glare generated off the panels. The panels must be installed at an angle where glare does not upset or disrupt the people, farms, and areas nearby.

Decommissioning plan

If the solar ‘farm’ stops working or generating power for 6 months or longer, they will be required to decommission the site and restore the land immediately.

Agricultural dual-use encouraged

Solar complexes are encouraged to continue farming the land under and around the panels per agrovoltaics principles. As mentioned above, they are required to support the environment and habitat around the panels.

Number of solar ‘farms’ allowed in an area

If a solar complex is going to snatch up farmland, all residents within 2 miles of the proposed site will be notified to attend a special use hearing. They will be free to voice their concerns and public sentiment will be heavily considered when approving the permit for the solar farm.

There will be no more than one major Tier 3 solar farm every 2.5 miles.

(Tier 3 refers to solar farms that are 50 acres in size or larger.)

The takeaways here

There are many more excellent facets of this law that you can read through here. A lot of time, effort, and research went into this law, which is why I am sharing it with anyone who needs help fighting these companies in your own town. It’s happening nationwide. The amount of people writing to me daily desperately asking for help, from Maine to Arizona, is heartbreaking.

The solar companies receive state grant money under the guise of ‘green energy’ initiatives and go out into the smallest communities to pressure farmers and boards to hand over their land. They do this for 2 reasons:

• farmland is already cleared and easy to establish rows of panels on

• village boards are easier to pressure and sway than big city boards

Both of these things point to one conclusion: big solar is trying to make as much money as possible, as quickly as possible. There is zero regard for the ‘green’ environment they claim to care so passionately about.

As my town’s law outlines, there are parameters, rules, and requirements that can make solar arrangements more environmentally beneficial. The problem is that these companies are not taking any of these initiatives on their own, and won’t, unless your town stands up to them, too.

One of the most beautiful parts of living in America, to me, is that we have options here. Towns, villages, counties, and states are allowed to make laws that reflect the culture of its citizens. As a citizen, you have the right to go to your town board and demand this kind of legislation be passed. When they ask you what the law should say, show them this law from the Town of Saratoga.

$24 trillion dollars worth of farmland is now changing hands as the average American farmer passes on or retires over the next 10-20 years. These solar companies know this, and they show up at the doorstep of farmers over the age of 60 with an ‘out’ they can’t refuse.

We will only get one chance to preserve our farmland. There’s a mad-dash for it, and I would argue solar is at the front of the land grab.

Solar CAN be smart in smart places. If it were up to me, I’d put them on the roof of every failing mall in America, as well as over the parking lots as solar canopies (the power generated could support a vertical farm indoors that feeds city residents and low income individuals). Panels could line highways, parking garages, and big box roofs. They make sense in already industrial, commercial, and urban areas. They do not make sense in the middle of farmland, which lowers surrounding property values by 7%, while fracturing ecological corridors and impacting animal and pollinator migrations. I detail in the articles below my personal stance on this matter.

I am incredibly proud to own a farm in my town this week, and hope this positive news makes its way around to other towns. We don’t have to sit here and take it.

At the very least, demand that your town halt all solar farms projects currently in the queue until a piece of legislation similar to this is drafted with public sentiment encouraged and considered.

I will continue to cover this story on here, as well as other ‘green’ energy scams that are money-grabs at the highest level. As someone on 6.74 acres in the middle of a farming district, I find myself learning more than I ever imagined my first year doing this.

To be continued!

(For those wanting to buy land, steward it, farm it, garden it, etc… that’s a much better reality for these regions than massive solar farms. I cover here how to go about getting loans for land.)

FURTHER READING

Cheers.