Other ranchers told ProPublica they have been able to stay on their land and preserve their way of life by leasing it to solar power. Landon Kesler’s family, which raises livestock for team roping competitions, has been leasing solar-powered land for more than a decade. The income allowed the family to nearly double its land holdings, providing more space for the ranch operation, Kesler said.
“I’ll be completely honest, it’s absurd,” Kesler said of efforts to limit solar on farmland. “Solar power has very directly helped us tie up other properties to use for livestock and ranching. It hasn’t exhausted us; it’s actually helped our agricultural business thrive.”
Lobbyists and solar industry executives have worked to boost the industry’s image with lawmakers ahead of the upcoming legislative session. They argue that solar energy is a good neighbor.
“We don’t use water, we don’t need sidewalks, we don’t create noise and we don’t create light,” said Amanda Smith, vice president of external affairs for AES, which has a solar project underway in Utah and a second in development. “So we just sit there and produce energy.”
Solar pays private landowners in Utah $17 million a year to lease their land. And, more importantly, solar developers say, it’s essential for powering the data centers the state is working to attract.
“We look forward to being part of a diverse electricity portfolio and believe we bring many values that will benefit communities, keep rates low and stable and help keep the lights on,” Rikki Seguin, executive director of the Interwest Energy Alliance, a Western trade organization that advocates for utility-scale renewable energy projects, told an interim committee of lawmakers this summer.
The message did not receive a positive reception from some lawmakers on the committee. Rep. Carl Albrecht, Republican from Richfield, who represents three rural Utah counties and was among the critics of solar power last session, said the biggest complaint he hears from constituents is about “this nasty solar installation” in his district.
“Why, Representative Albrecht, did you authorize the construction of this solar field? It’s black. It looks like the Dead Sea when you drive past it,” Albrecht said.
This story was originally published by ProPublica.
