Protecting farmland in Maine is essential for ensuring that we have the land base to grow our agricultural economy, particularly as more farmers reach retirement age and development pressures increase across the state. Protecting land is also a key natural climate solution by avoiding the greater emissions associated with developed land, by ensuring we have the farmland needed to support our local and regional food economy and create food security for our state, and by preserving the climate benefits that can result from farmers using climate-friendly practices on the land.

MFT supports renewable energy production on farmland and on active farms as long as it does not significantly diminish the potential for agricultural production. On-site energy production can provide economic support to a farm, reduce the farm’s energy costs, and is important for addressing climate change. But making sure we have the land base to support a robust local and regional food system – and food security in Maine – is also critical. As renewable energy development has increased in the state, so too has our understanding of the impacts that these projects can have on the amount of farmland taken out of agricultural production, the loss of important agricultural soils, and the competition for land that farmers need to lease in order to support their operations. MFT believes that solar generation and agriculture can co-exist symbiotically in Maine as long as solar siting is structured to balance these important interests.

LD 1227 - An Act to Balance Renewable Energy Development with Natural and Working Lands Conservation is scheduled for public hearing on April 10, 2023 and would advance key recommendations from the Agricultural Solar Siting Stakeholder Group that was created by LD 820 and convened by the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) and the Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) for the purpose of developing consensus-based recommendations to incentivize the siting of solar energy projects that minimize impacts to valuable agricultural lands.

What would this bill do?

First, the legislation would create the opportunity to investigate the potential of dual-use solar projects in Maine that integrate solar energy generation with agricultural production systems. This pilot program would allow for the establishment of a sufficient number of dual-use projects of varying sizes, in different locations, and involving different types of agriculture. In doing so, the pilot would allow DACF and its partners the opportunity to collect data and determine how these projects affect agricultural production, and what kinds of benefits, costs, and support needs are associated with this type of development. Although some comparable pilots are ongoing in other states, this pilot program would also allow Maine to build off the efforts of other states and test best practice approaches that are suited for Maine’s specialty crops and unique environment. The collection of this data will be critical for determining whether and how agri-voltaics could be a viable model for solar production in the state.

Second, the bill would provide GEO with the resources it needs to create a publicly-accessible database of key characteristics of fully permitted or constructed energy projects so that land use trends can be identified and strategies can be created to avoid the over-development of important resources.

You can help by contacting members of the Legislature's Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (ACF) committee to express your support for LD 1227 and establishing the right balance between supporting solar development and ensuring it does not result in the loss of important agricultural lands or impede agricultural production or land access.

Enter your ZIP code below to start contacting the ACF committee.