59. Solar Land Use Legislation - Let’s Do Some Numbers
Solar Land Use Legislation - Let’s Do Some Numbers The alarmist and reactionary tone of a recent op-ed (Sun Journal May 20) about a solar bill in the state legislature (LD 1881) inspired us to spend some time figuring out whether this bill was going to end solar development, help solar development, or just confuse everyone. The bill, LD 1881, would require developers of solar energy projects to pay a “compensation fee” or pay for conservation efforts to mitigate adverse effects on prime agricultural lands. We are sympathetic to the sentiment behind this bill. Rapid development of anything, especially when it has an impact on land use, does require attention by authorities and governments to safeguard against negative effects on people and other species. However, as we develop more renewable energy sources we need to weigh the positives against the negatives–in this case the negative impacts on land use compared to the positives of addressing CO2 production from fossil fuel emission