Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding has launched steering for landowners contemplating photo voltaic manufacturing on farmland and in rural communities in Pennsylvania. The steering outlines Wolf administration help for applied sciences that create jobs and generate farm earnings with out compromising meals and fiber manufacturing.
“Pennsylvania’s farmland is a treasured useful resource for producing meals, defending our surroundings, and feeding our financial system,” says Redding. “Photo voltaic power manufacturing holds great potential for producing electrical energy to energy farm operations and furthering Pennsylvania’s transition to a clean-energy future. If rigorously deliberate, well-situated and correctly maintained, photo voltaic manufacturing is not going to compromise or diminish precious farmland assets, moderately it can improve them.”
Points to information enterprise decision-making embrace sustainable web site choice putting precedence on roofs, parking tons or brownfields moderately than agricultural or forested land, avoiding premium high quality soil places altogether. It contains upkeep that protects soil and pollinators by way of native vegetation freed from invasive species; provides precedence to grazing vs. mowing, compensating farmers for the service; and contains decommissioning plans to totally restore any soil at a challenge’s completion.
The steering focuses on the mixing of power and agricultural manufacturing in a approach that’s complimentary moderately than aggressive. It additionally outlines extra issues for homeowners of farmland together with the impression photo voltaic manufacturing would have on the farm’s enrollment in preferential tax applications, preserved farm standing, native zoning, environmental permits and conservation plans and different points.
