DEARBORN COUNTY, Ind. — A new report from the International Renewable Energy Association (IRENA) took a deep look at the positives and negatives of large-scale solar farms around the world, and suggested ways to mitigate the worst impacts of the projects by both government regulators and private industry moving forward.
We looked into the report's findings after you told us that the proposed construction of solar farms was top of mind to you at our "Let's Talk" event in Lawrenceburg.
Since then, we've heard from a company looking to build a solar project near Manchester, talked with people who live next to that proposed project, heard from a man who has decided to lease his property for renewable energy and told you about a series of meetings proposed to examine a moratorium on solar farms at the county level.
The IRENA report was issued in January.
WATCH: We break down the findings of an international solar farm impact report
The main concern you brought to us at our event was that solar farms would take up prime farmland, changing the rural nature of the region and, in the worst case, leading to a lack of usable land for food production.
"My dad always said, they're not making any more ground, so you need to protect what you've got," said Dave Sams.
While land owners are leasing what has previously served as crop land to solar developers in Dearborn County, the IRENA report said concerns over solar farms eating up American agricultural land were a regional issue.
"Based on an ambitious assumption, and without considering short-term political changes, solar PV deployment aligned with the Paris climate target would require less than 0.5% of the United States’ land area, or 1% if combined with agricultural land," the report said.
While it would require thousands of hectares of land, IRENA found that the land required for solar energy production would remain dwarfed by other uses.
"For example, in Australia, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and many other countries, land areas used for golf courses can be several or over ten times larger than the areas used for utility-scale solar PV," the report read.
In addition, the report found soil under solar farms can see long-term benefits once the farm reaches its average 30-year lifespan and is decommissioned, though much of the improvement was measured in arid climates facing desertification.
One Dearborn County land owner, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he leased his land to a solar developer partly because the land could one day be returned to productive crop growth.
"You have 30 years of topsoil. Nothing is coming off of it. It's getting mowed," he said.
Studies have also shown that soil improvement can be enhanced if property owners welcome "dual-use" on their properties with the introduction of grazing animals like cows or sheep.
Linea Energy Development Director Chris Barry told us sheep grazing is part of their plan for a facility near Manchester.
"We've also engaged with an outfit out of Franklin that has the ability to bring in the sheep. They estimate they would need about 2,000 sheep to maintain the site, but we have not advanced to a definitive agreement on that," Barry said.
People in Dearborn County also said they had concerns about potentially excessive water use or pollution from heavy metals used in solar panels.
The IRENA report indicated that most of the environmental impact from solar farms comes from the mining of materials to produce solar panels, the construction of the facility, and the handling of the panels once they've reached the end-of-life and are decommissioned:
The report found that panels that aren't properly maintained or fall into disrepair can be hazardous.
"If the damaged or decommissioned solar PV panels are not properly stored or treated, heavy metals or hazardous substances in the panels can pollute land, water, air and the local ecosystem, threatening public health. For example, the majority of currently installed solar panel backsheets are fluorine-based for better durability performance. Without proper measures, burning these solar panel backsheets can produce highly toxic hydrogen fluoride, which can be fatal to animals, including humans," the report said.
Sean DeLancey has been following solar farm development in Dearborn County. You can reach out to him here:
IRENA suggested that any developer also provide animal breaks in fencing on farms spanning hundreds, if not thousands, of acres.
"Fencing of large-scale solar PV plants can affect wildlife movements, which are crucial for accessing food, water and shelter, as well as for reproductive activities. Vehicle noise during the construction process may also affect the breeding season of wild animals," the report said.
The key to mitigating any negative impacts from project planning, construction, operation and decommissioning of solar farms was significant government preparation and oversight, transparent and clear regulation and working with local stakeholders and community members.
"Early stage, transparent and meaningful local consultation processes must be established for local communities affected by renewable energy projects, with measures in place to allow them to withhold consent if the costs are too high and the benefits are too low. Proper and transparent public participation helps speed up planning processes by ensuring that potential environmental concerns, including related legal issues, are addressed early," IRENA said.
You can read the full IRENA report here:
