Sat through a town hall meeting on solar farms in rural Ohio last Tuesday and now I'm rethinking my whole stance

The farmer who spoke about losing 40 acres of prime topsoil to a solar installation made me realize I've been ignoring the trade-offs between clean energy and local food production, has anyone else actually sat down with farmers before pushing for big solar projects?

3 comments

3 Comments

alex82019d ago

I mean, that 40 acres of prime topsoil line really stuck with me too. Do you know if the farmer had any say in where they put the panels, or was it just a straight land lease situation? Idk, it makes me wonder if there's a way to do solar without just paving over the best dirt.

joseph_green1318d ago

Damn. That farmer lost 40 acres of good dirt for some panels and that just hits different. We act like open land is just sitting there empty, but every acre of topsoil took thousands of years to build up. People pushing for solar need to actually talk to the guys who work that land before they start signing leases. I had no idea how much damage these projects can do until I heard that story.

owens.laura18d ago

Wish more people would actually listen instead of just pushing green energy ideas from a distance. That farmer's story should be required reading before anyone signs off on another project.