The proliferation of solar farms across North America are raising a new concern for farmers and agricultural advocacy groups — this time over erosion patterns that can render hundreds of thousands of hectares of prime land infertile.According to the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department, common solar farm construction practices including clearing and grading large sections of land can lead to significant erosion and major runoff of sediment into waterways without proper remediation.Now farmers and landowners south of the border are complaining the damages aren’t covered under land use contracts that render them powerless to seek redress from developers for essentially destroying prime crop land..According to a Reuters report, farmers in one of Indiana’s largest solar developments in the US Midwest are powerless to to sue Dunns Bridge Solar LLC under long-term lease contracts that give the company access to their lands until 2073.According to a typical lease agreement with corn and soybean farmer Dave Duttlinger, Dunns Bridge said it would use “commercially reasonable efforts to minimize any damage to and disturbance of growing crops and crop land caused by its construction activities” outside the project site and “not remove topsoil” from the property itself.However, that didn’t stop it from spreading layers of fine sand across large stretches of the black Earth — some of the most fertile in the Lower 48 — ostensibly to prevent a particular type of erosion that occurs when rainwater drips off the panels, forming ridge lines on the downslope of the panel.“I’ll never be able to grow anything on that field again,” said Duttlinger, expressing his sadness over the permanent changes to his land and soil quality caused by the panels..“We’re giving up valuable soil that could be used to grow food,”Jerry Hatfield, the former head of the USDA’s Agricultural Research Services national lab.According to industry group North American Clean Energy, drip line erosion can quickly make its way to the panel uprights, eventually compromising them and leading to unnecessary maintenance or repairs on installed arrays. “The unfortunate reality is, the more unnecessary activity that occurs near the arrays such as maintenance, the greater chance of accidental damage and subsequent repairs,” it said.“Instances of damage caused by improper erosion control measures have resulted in lawsuits and settlements, highlighting the need for proper planning and implementation.“But the temptation to succumb to terms is strong. Solar leases in states like Indiana pay up to USD$1,500 an acre per year in rents, with annual rate increases. In comparison top corn and soybean producers Indiana, Illinois and Iowa reaped about $251 per acre in 2023, USDA data shows.The solar farm developers are often publicly traded real estate investment trusts lured by third party capital pools hoping to snag investment tax credits under the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act.The trend is exacerbated by the low cost of land, available space, and government financial incentives. Sound familiar? What happens in the US inevitably works its way north of the border over time..The good news is that the issue is starting to raise the eyebrows of government officials. Now the US Department of Energy, in conjunction with Honeywell and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, is creating a database of solar installations to assess impacts.It’s hoped the data will inform land use policies and future zoning decisions “to find a solution where both agriculture and the energy sectors can prosper” without harming each other’s crucial interests.“We’re giving up valuable soil that could be used to grow food,” says Jerry Hatfield, the former head of the USDA’s Agricultural Research Services national lab.
The proliferation of solar farms across North America are raising a new concern for farmers and agricultural advocacy groups — this time over erosion patterns that can render hundreds of thousands of hectares of prime land infertile.According to the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department, common solar farm construction practices including clearing and grading large sections of land can lead to significant erosion and major runoff of sediment into waterways without proper remediation.Now farmers and landowners south of the border are complaining the damages aren’t covered under land use contracts that render them powerless to seek redress from developers for essentially destroying prime crop land..According to a Reuters report, farmers in one of Indiana’s largest solar developments in the US Midwest are powerless to to sue Dunns Bridge Solar LLC under long-term lease contracts that give the company access to their lands until 2073.According to a typical lease agreement with corn and soybean farmer Dave Duttlinger, Dunns Bridge said it would use “commercially reasonable efforts to minimize any damage to and disturbance of growing crops and crop land caused by its construction activities” outside the project site and “not remove topsoil” from the property itself.However, that didn’t stop it from spreading layers of fine sand across large stretches of the black Earth — some of the most fertile in the Lower 48 — ostensibly to prevent a particular type of erosion that occurs when rainwater drips off the panels, forming ridge lines on the downslope of the panel.“I’ll never be able to grow anything on that field again,” said Duttlinger, expressing his sadness over the permanent changes to his land and soil quality caused by the panels..“We’re giving up valuable soil that could be used to grow food,”Jerry Hatfield, the former head of the USDA’s Agricultural Research Services national lab.According to industry group North American Clean Energy, drip line erosion can quickly make its way to the panel uprights, eventually compromising them and leading to unnecessary maintenance or repairs on installed arrays. “The unfortunate reality is, the more unnecessary activity that occurs near the arrays such as maintenance, the greater chance of accidental damage and subsequent repairs,” it said.“Instances of damage caused by improper erosion control measures have resulted in lawsuits and settlements, highlighting the need for proper planning and implementation.“But the temptation to succumb to terms is strong. Solar leases in states like Indiana pay up to USD$1,500 an acre per year in rents, with annual rate increases. In comparison top corn and soybean producers Indiana, Illinois and Iowa reaped about $251 per acre in 2023, USDA data shows.The solar farm developers are often publicly traded real estate investment trusts lured by third party capital pools hoping to snag investment tax credits under the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act.The trend is exacerbated by the low cost of land, available space, and government financial incentives. Sound familiar? What happens in the US inevitably works its way north of the border over time..The good news is that the issue is starting to raise the eyebrows of government officials. Now the US Department of Energy, in conjunction with Honeywell and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, is creating a database of solar installations to assess impacts.It’s hoped the data will inform land use policies and future zoning decisions “to find a solution where both agriculture and the energy sectors can prosper” without harming each other’s crucial interests.“We’re giving up valuable soil that could be used to grow food,” says Jerry Hatfield, the former head of the USDA’s Agricultural Research Services national lab.
