Our little community has turned into a modern day Oklahoma. Half of the farmers want to rent their acreage to industrial solar companies. The other half believe it is neither correct or good to cover food producing land with solar panels. The tension is high & the name calling is loud.
The tension seems to be at a fever pitch over every issue these days. Not having the background info on this land use issue, it would seem that if a farmer would rather produce solar energy than soybeans on his land that's well within his rights to do so. With 40% of the food produced in this country ending up in landfills, acreage dedicated to crop production doesn't appear to be a critical problem. Whatever the concerns are on both sides, it would be so nice to see the farmers/landowners involved work out a plan for the most beneficial use of their farmland going forward. Food and renewable energy are both crucial.
