American Farmland Belief, Edelen Renewables and Arcadia have introduced a partnership known as Farmers Powering Communities to fight local weather change by means of photo voltaic power growth whereas defending America’s farmland and ranchland for rising meals, gasoline and fiber. The partnership supplies extra farmers with the chance for a brand new income stream and brings renewable power to communities the place it has not but been out there.
Farmers Powering Communities will advance neighborhood photo voltaic initiatives of 25 to 50 acres to supply inexperienced power to those that don’t have entry to rooftop photo voltaic — connecting them with native photo voltaic farms and bringing resiliency to extra Individuals. The partnership will establish the very best land for brand spanking new photo voltaic farms, set up installations and hyperlink them to native power suppliers who will present the facility to residents at prices decrease than the market common. Collectively, the companions will work to create 500 MW of neighborhood photo voltaic capability in 5 years.
AFT’s Smart Solar principles will information the placement of growth to make sure that it prioritizes photo voltaic siting inside the constructed atmosphere (rooftops, carports, irrigation ditches), on disturbed and contaminated lands (brownfields, landfills, reclaimed mining lands), and lastly, on marginal agricultural land as an alternative of prime farmland. The place photo voltaic growth happens on good farmland, the set up must be agrivoltaic — or dual-use — permitting farming or ranching to proceed in live performance with photo voltaic power manufacturing. Because the trade builds new photo voltaic, it’s crucial to not hurt agricultural programs, which themselves assist fight local weather change by sequestering carbon.
“Farmers are on the frontlines of local weather change, experiencing excessive climate occasions that influence their crops, livestock and livelihoods,” stated John Piotti, AFT president and CEO. “We additionally know that farms may be a part of the answer to the local weather disaster. Farmland can draw carbon from the air to rebuild soil when farmed utilizing climate-smart practices like cowl crops and decreased tillage. We have to dramatically ramp up photo voltaic power manufacturing whereas retaining our farms and ranches. That’s what this partnership is all about. Doing photo voltaic the precise manner and placing it in the precise place is what we name Sensible Photo voltaic.”
Improvement will start in 2023 throughout plenty of states which have energetic neighborhood photo voltaic packages, together with ME, MA, RI, NY, NJ, DE, MD, DC, VA, IL, MN, CO, NM and OR. The partnership may also speed up neighborhood photo voltaic entry throughout the nation by means of state and federal coverage advocacy.
Information merchandise from American Farmland Belief
