Two members of the Senate Agriculture Committee have introduced a bipartisan bill aimed at protecting and investing in farmland used for solar production.
Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, introduced the Protecting Future Farmland Act earlier this week. The legislation would prioritize land stewardship and responsible solar energy deployment in federal rural energy projects, preserving farmland for future usage.
The bill would prioritize "federal assistance to those renewable energy projects (through the existing Rural Energy for America Program) that have in place soil, water, and vegetation management and conservation plans," the senators' press release said.
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“While many farmers are choosing to expand clean, renewable energy – supporting energy independence and increasing revenues of their operation – we need to support our farmers’ land stewardship efforts and help them protect the farmland that is critical to the future of our rural economies and national food security,” Baldwin said in a statement.
Grassley said lawmakers "must be certain that embracing solar doesn’t damage our most valuable commodity: our rich Iowa soil."
The bill has also gained support from organizations such as American Farmland Trust. The organization says many aspects of the bill are similar to legislation they have previously proposed.
“Solar deployment can be an opportunity to strengthen farm viability and keep land in farming, but to do this right will require action," said Tim Fink, policy director of AFT.
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