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A pair of Triad legislators are looking to take the farm out of solar. Republican Reps. Julia Howard of Davie County and Dennis Riddell of Alamance County are two of the three primary sponsors of a bill that would prevent planting large solar arrays on agricultural land across the state.
The title of House Bill 729, the Farmland Protection Act, reveals their inspiration for the legislation. It also parrots the perception by many North Carolinians that expanses of photovoltaic panels are pushing aside crops and cattle at an alarming rate, putting the state’s $111 billion agriculture industry at risk while blighting the state’s vanishing rural landscape. Instead, the proposed legislation would push new solar projects to former industrial sites.
Howard and Riddell did not respond to requests for comment, but opponents of the proposal were more than willing to weigh in. People are also reading..
. “This bill is really trying to address something that is not a problem in North Carolina right now,” insisted Matt Abele, executive director of the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association. The bill, which was referred to the House Committee on Agriculture and Environment, would forbid the North Carolina Utilities Commission from approving large solar projects on property “being used for agricultural or horticultural production.
” Utility-scale systems have a generating capacity of at least 2 megawatts. More than two-thirds of large-scale solar farms in North Carolina sit on land that was used for crops or grazing as recently 2008, according to a 2022 report by the N.C.
Sustainable Energy Association. At first glance, that statistic may appear to signal a troubling trend. However, ground-based solar facilities with at least 1 megawatt of capacity cover just 0.
27% of the state’s nearly 11 million acres of agricultural land, the NCSEA found. At the same time, parks, golf courses and single-family residential developments account for more than 10% of former farm properties, the study said. In addition to being unnecessary, House Bill 729 contradicts a basic tenet of Republican politics, Abele said.
“This bill infringes on individual property rights and the ability of farmers and landowners to determine how best to use the land that they own to make money for their family,” he explained. In the face of financial challenges – including Trump’s escalating tariffs on China, the largest importer of U.S.
agricultural products – farmers’ ability to lease a portion of their property for solar facilities gives them a reliable source of income. In many cases, that income allows them to remain in agriculture. “We've seen with some farmers who lease out their property for solar generate 10 to 15 times the yield economically over what they previously were getting by growing crops,” Abele noted.
Solar projects also offer an economic boost in rural counties with little industry to employ residents and generate tax revenue. "So, it's not just about the individual landowner who is seeing a significant increase in income,” Abele said. “It's also about the community and helping to support the community at the same time.
” Here’s a look at the impact on counties in Howard’s district: In Riddell’s district, 39 projects fueled a property-tax spike of 1,109% Flexibility for land In its analysis, the sustainable energy association identified more than 700 solar energy systems in the state with a capacity of at least 1 megawatt, occupying more than 38,000 acres. A little more than 23,600 acres, or 62%, of that total involved land classified as “cultivated cropland” in 2008, and another 7% was former pastureland. Solar projects account for about 0.
12% of all land area in the state, according to the report. The group also noted that unlike new residential communities — which dominate agricultural redevelopment — solar farms are planned with a specific lifespan, typically about 25 years. “In some cases, these facilities may be modified or repowered at the end of their useful life, but they can also be returned to their previous land use provided that certain precautions are taken during the initial construction phases,” the report said.
“The same cannot be said for these other types of land uses.” Abele also noted that making farms off limits to solar would slow Duke Energy’s transition to energy sources that don’t release heat-trapping pollution that causes climate change. John.
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