{"id":309190,"date":"2026-07-29T21:36:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T21:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/309190\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T21:36:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T21:36:08","slug":"solar-is-helping-save-new-york-farms-not-destroy-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/309190\/","title":{"rendered":"Solar is Helping Save New York Farms, Not Destroy Them"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York\u2019s farmland is under threat, but not from responsibly sited solar.\u00a0In June,\u00a0USDA\u00a0Secretary Rollins\u00a0sent a\u00a0letter<\/a>\u00a0to Governor Hochul full of accusations that the state is allowing solar to destroy New York\u2019s farmland. We applaud the state\u2019s clear, data-filled\u00a0response<\/a>\u00a0that shows how little prime farmland has been used for utility solar projects, how solar development can help farmers maintain and even expand their agricultural operations, and how the state has taken extensive steps to regulate solar installation, decommissioning, and\u00a0disposal\u00a0to protect farmland and communities.\u00a0As explained below,\u00a0if\u00a0the federal government\u00a0cares about farmland, it should redirect its efforts to address the real threats\u00a0\u2013\u00a0pollution and the accelerating impacts of climate change.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

As\u00a0an initial\u00a0matter, the amount of solar on prime farmland is extremely\u00a0small.\u00a0Analysis<\/a>\u00a0from the\u00a0Solar Energy Industries Association\u00a0shows\u00a0that just 0.13% of\u00a0the\u00a0state\u2019s\u00a0USDA-certified\u00a0prime farmland\u00a0hosts\u00a0solar\u00a0\u2013\u00a0about\u00a017 out\u00a0of\u00a013,000 square miles\u00a0statewide.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Moreover, solar is\u00a0saving farms, not sacrificing them. Across New York, farmers\u00a0rely\u00a0on\u00a0solar leases to stabilize income, keep land in production, and resist pressure to sell fields for subdivisions and warehouses.\u00a0As Congress explained<\/a>\u00a0when\u00a0establishing\u00a0the\u00a0Rural\u00a0Energy\u00a0for\u00a0America\u00a0Program, \u201cfarm-based renewable energy\u00a0generation can become\u00a0one of the major\u00a0cash crops\u00a0of the\u00a0United States, improving\u00a0the livelihoods\u00a0of hundreds of thousands\u00a0of family farmers, ranchers, and others and revitalizing rural communities.\u201d\u00a0Without this revenue, many farms would be lost\u00a0permanently.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Additionally,\u00a0New York\u00a0has\u00a0already\u00a0strong\u00a0farmland protections<\/a>.\u00a0State guidelines for constructing, managing, and decommissioning solar projects\u00a0safeguard\u00a0soil and\u00a0future agricultural productivity.\u00a0The state\u00a0also\u00a0supports dual<\/a>\u2011use systems\u00a0that\u00a0enable\u00a0grazing, pollinator habitat, and crop production under and around solar arrays. Solar and agriculture can\u00a0coexist.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Indeed, solar\u00a0can help free up prime farmland for food production.\u00a0Roughly\u00a0144,000\u00a0acres\u00a0of New York farmland grow corn for ethanol\u00a0\u2013\u00a0an\u00a0extremely inefficient\u00a0energy source.\u00a0An acre of solar produces\u00a0100 times<\/a>\u00a0more\u00a0useable energy per acre than\u00a0corn, meaning\u00a01,440 acres\u00a0of solar panels could\u00a0replace\u00a0all the state\u2019s ethanol energy\u00a0and\u00a0free up\u00a0142,560\u00a0acres\u00a0for\u00a0food.\u00a0If we care about land conservation, feeding people,\u00a0and climate\u00a0action, solar is the responsible choice.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, recent federal\u00a0actions pose far greater threats to prime farmland than any solar project.\u00a0Sewage sludge is spread on\u00a030,000 acres\u00a0<\/a>of New York farmland each year, and EPA\u2019s\u00a0refusal\u00a0<\/a>to address the\u00a0PFAS\u00a0contamination risks\u00a0from this practice threatens\u00a0soil\u00a0and food safety. USDA has also\u00a0cut hundreds of millions of dollars of farm conservation grants\u00a0<\/a>that\u00a0help farmers protect their land.\u00a0These decisions\u00a0risk\u00a0irreversible\u00a0harm,\u00a0unlike solar installations, which are temporary and\u00a0can be fully decommissioned.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Finally,\u00a0New York\u2019s farms are already suffering from\u00a0climate<\/a>\u2011driven floods, droughts, and extreme weather. Slowing down clean energy\u00a0deployment will only\u00a0worsen\u00a0these\u00a0impacts.\u00a0Responsible solar development protects farmland, strengthens rural communities, and delivers the clean energy New Yorkers need.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Moving forward, we urge policymakers to confront the real threats to farmland\u00a0and stand with farmers who are choosing solar as a path to\u00a0economic and environmental\u00a0survival.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New York\u2019s farmland is under threat, but not from responsibly sited solar.\u00a0In June,\u00a0USDA\u00a0Secretary Rollins\u00a0sent a\u00a0letter\u00a0to Governor Hochul full…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":309191,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9,11,10,49,51,50],"class_list":["post-309190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-new-york-state","tag-new-york-state-headlines","tag-new-york-state-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=309190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309190\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/309191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=309190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=309190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=309190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}