The Black Cloud Over Solar Energy

Aerial shot of solar panels

Not all is sunny in the countryside when it comes to solar energy and agriculture. While solar energy can provide farmers with a new revenue stream, some are concerned about taking productive ground out of commission.

"If it's marginal ground, fine; it doesn't produce very good," said Jon Freeman, a fourth-generation farmer from south-central Illinois. "But if it's good, productive stuff, I hate to see it put [into] solar."

Freeman leases 15 acres of marginal land for a solar energy project, which he said pays more than he could earn farming it. Yet, he said he is concerned, as he has seen thousands of acres of solar panels pop up around him.

"I can name probably 10,000 acres worth of good farmland that's being taken out for solar production just in maybe a two-county area," he said.

And why is he concerned? Simple: "We've got to eat," he said. "I think we might go too far."

Brad Haight, a lawyer in Denver and owner of Farm First Energy, a renewable energy development company, said he has spent 24 years helping farmers and renewable energy developers draft leasing agreements for wind and solar energy projects. He and Freeman said they know landowners who have turned down solar lease offers.

"I've had them tell me … 'I get that we make $600 an acre a year … and I get that they're going to pay us $2,500. This is some of the best farmland in the country. We're not converting it to energy production,'" Haight said. "It's almost philosophical."

Haight said payments can vary widely, based on a number of factors such as the project's size and location. He said utility solar projects typically pay $1,200–2,500 per acre annually. He said he has seen community solar projects pay more, such as $3,000 or $4,000 an acre.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), community solar projects can benefit "individuals, businesses, nonprofits, and other groups," and typically involve customers subscribing to or buying an ownership share of the generated energy in exchange for an electric bill credit.