Baldwin bill aims for better guidance, consistency on solar developments on agriultural land

Wisconsin farm advocates are embracing a push in Washington, D.C., to establish federal guidelines that could help balance the often competing interests of solar energy developers, farmers who both embrace and oppose turning agricultural land to energy production, and the residents of surrounding rural communities.

More than 80% of the country's solar energy development has taken place on farmland, where developers are attracted to vast amounts of undeveloped land and easy connections to the electric grid. That's been a boon for farmers who choose to lease land to the energy companies, but it has led to rising opposition. Critics worry about the loss of agricultural land during the 25 years or longer lifetime of renewable energy installations and how they might affect the long-term health of the soil.

Legislation recently introduced by Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley seeks to answer those concerns by creating a uniform approach to developing farmland that rewards best practices for soil conservation during the development, operation and retirement of solar installations, provide federal resources to help land owners continue to farm or graze land that hosts such projects, and prioritize federal funding assistance for projects that follow best practices.

Baldwin said the Protecting Future Farmland Act aims to ensure that farmers and ranchers "have support and choices."

"We know that 83% of new solar projects are installed on farmland or ranch lands, and there's no strategy at the federal level for managing the land beneath those solar panels but we care deeply about the quality of the water and the soil for the future," Baldwin said.

More: Can solar power and farming coexist? This partnership between UW, Alliant aims to find a way

Tyler Wenzlaff, director of national affairs for the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, said the bill alone wouldn't reduce the tension in rural communities over the conversion of agricultural land to solar energy production, but it could address two key concerns: ensuring that the soil is in the same, if not better condition, when solar farms are decommissioned, and providing incentives to maintain some agricultural benefit during the life of the solar farm.

"It's still one of those issues that pits neighbor versus neighbor and, really, within our organization it pits member versus member," Wenzlaff said.

The bill would:

• Prioritize federal assistance for large scale renewable energy projects to those projects that have acceptable soil, water, and vegetation management and conservation plans.

• Direct the U.S. Department of Agriculture to collect data on conversion of farmland to solar energy and report to Congress on the benefits and impacts of solar energy development on agricultural land.

• Authorize the National Resources Conservation Service to develop best practices for protection of soil health during the siting, construction, operation, and decommissioning of solar energy systems on agricultural land.

• Authorize the National Resources Conservation Service to provide technical assistance to farmers growing crops or managing grazing below or in tandem with solar energy systems, a dual-use approach known as agrivoltaics.

While some solar developers already are address those concerns by planting pollinator habitats and have well developed soil and water conservation plans, others remove all of the topsoil, leaving in question how the land might be used in the future, Wenzlaff said.

He said USDA help in developing standards for preserving soil and restoring land will be critical as renewable energy construction accelerates.

Equally important, he said, a push towards a better understanding of agrivoltaics could lead to broader acceptance of solar developments.

"A lot of members have a big concern with prime agricultural land being turned into renewable energy projects, and it's really an issue statewide," Wenzlaff said. "We want to make sure that only appropriate land is moved into renewable energy, and if there is land moved into renewable energy projects that we can try to work to turn those into projects that we can still graze under or use those in some kind of agricultural form."

A Baldwin spokesperson said Baldwin and Grassley hope the bill can be folded in to the federal Farm Bill, a delayed five-year spending measure that includes financial support for farmers, food assistance programs and conservation efforts. The previous bill expired in September, and it's unclear when a new bill will move forward as the House looks to reorganize following last week's ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Baldwin bill aims for better guidance on solar developments on farm land