A member of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee says legislation is needed to help expand solar energy infrastructure without sacrificing valuable farmland.
Eric Sorensen of Illinois tells Brownfield solar companies are offering favorable premiums to turn cropland into solar farms, leaving landowners with a tough choice.
“The area between Chicago and Des Moines, Iowa is the most fertile land in the world. We cannot cover it up with solar panels.”
He says the bipartisan Agrivoltaics Research and Demonstration Act of 2023 will help locate marginal pieces of land with poor or inconsistent yields that are better suited for solar installation.
