Choice: food or solar fields

[jyoutz]

Being assertive on climate change is one thing, but tens of thousands of acres of food-producing farming land going lost because of assumptions from predictive computer models? Under a solar field grows nothing, not even weeds. But of course, food can then be brought in by ship from Asia

Not one of all these climate models, when tested against historical climate data of the last century, gives a better result than 50%. Computer models can't even predict the stock exchange over one whole week.

Tens of thousands of acres needed for solar fields to meet Consumers Energy climate goals

Officials expect tens of thousands of acres of solar fields will be needed to meet the company’s climate promises, along with retiring coal-burning power generation.

www.mlive.com

There are large solar farms within 10 miles of where I live. They are about 100 acres each. The farms and ranch lands aggregate in the tens of thousands of acres. A little perspective. They are also producing cheaper electricity than the older coal plants (now closed) used to produce. So let’s disregard the climate model discussion. The power is cheaper and cleaner.

 

[jyoutz]

Back when Bill Clinton was president they apparently had money to burn. They implemented a farm program called CREP. It stood for conservation reserve enhance program. It was permanent set aside. You couldn’t farm, log it, mow it, just walk on it and hunt on it. As in NEVER. As a rule it was meant to keep silt out of the major rivers but it spread to smaller rivers when participation wasn’t big enough.

People often got paid through the CREP program a lot more than they paid for the ground. I wonder how long before the government pays these landowner to go back and start farming it.

Those lands had to be classified as marginally productive land and the program is still operating. Nobody put class 1 farmland in the CRP program.

 

[jyoutz]

I do. I own the land here around the farm and I lease ground elsewhere and I own more ground in northern lower Michigan and none of it will ever have solar on it as long as myself or our family owns it. My leased ground is another story, don't control that but keep in mind, as fertile ground is taken pit of production and what was grown on the land no longer is grown, that all adds to the shortage of food and other processed from whatever was grown there.

Shortage of food? There are far more acres of grain produced in the US than is used domestically. Many acres are planted for export or fuel alcohol. We are far from having a food shortage in the US.

 

[Grumpycat]

13,000 acres of good farm ground out of commission.

Israeli company building largest solar project in the US in northern Indiana

(The Center Square) – A company based in Israel has leased 13,000 acres of farmland in two northern Indiana counties with plans to build the largest solar farm in the

www.thecentersquare.com

Why should a zoning authority have any say over how the owner uses the land?

 

[lman]

Why should a zoning authority have any say over how the owner uses the land?

No restrictions in your subdivision?

 

[5030]

The essence of zoning is to protect a homeowner/landholder from a person or persons erecting or using lands in a non conforming way. Without zoning, you could have a 300 grand home with a trailer next door and that destroys the value of the 300K place. zoning is all about protecting the value of property and housing.

 

[5030]

Shortage of food? There are far more acres of grain produced in the US than is used domestically. Many acres are planted for export or fuel alcohol. We are far from having a food shortage in the US.

Keep that thought this fall and winter.

 

[lman]

When bread gets to $10/loaf, I'll do without.

 

[jyoutz]

Keep that thought this fall and winter.

So are you suggesting that exports and fuel production from grains would continue if there was a food shortage in this country?

 

[WM75Guy]

Taxing entities are happy to have solar and wind farms. We pay property tax and separate mineral production tax on farmland that has oil/gas production. For growing cotton there is an ag exemption on the property tax, which reduces the tax revenue generated. There are no exemptions for mineral tax and the acreage is appraised at a higher value based on production, resulting in considerably more tax revenue. We were leased out for wind but so far, no wind turbines have been built on the properties. If we had wind or solar production that would raise the appraised value accordingly, therefore more tax revenue.