Bill Would Limit Where Solar Arrays May be Placed on Farmland

(Radio Iowa) A key senator is proposing new restrictions for commercially owned solar installations placed on farmland. Senate Ag Committee chairman Dan Zumbach says the goal is to establish limits on how close solar arrays may be to property lines, farm buildings and homes.

“Most people that live around them don’t like what they look like when they’re used to looking at farmland or pastures and see this new industrial product coming in on farmland,” Zumbach says. Zumbach, a Republican from Ryan, says it’s time to set rules for an industry that’s in its infancy. Representatives for utility companies and developers say requiring solar arrays to be 1,200 feet from a residence or livestock facility would be a project killer. Christopher Rants is a lobbyist NextEra Energy, which is currently developing two solar arrays in Iowa.

“We fundamentally believe that this is a decision that should be made by the landowner as opposed to the state legislature trying to make it for them,” Rants says. The Iowa Farm Bureau supports some restrictions. However, Farm Bureau lobbyist Matt Gronewald warns the bill as currently written may prohibit farmers from installing solar panels to generate electricity for their operations.

“Perhaps including a minimum acreage of solar facilities being 40 acres or larger might address that,” he says. Dustin Miller, a lobbyist for the American Clean Power Association, says the restrictions in the bill are pretty onerous.

“The only thing that this would really standardize is a halt in investment,” Miller says. “…What nuisance are we trying to cure here?” Last year, Zumbach proposed a ban on placing solar arrays on land rated as highly suitable for growing corn and soybeans. However, Zumbach says he learned that approach would have shifted solar development to areas of the state with the least productive farmland.