Solar panels are showing up on more farm fields throughout rural America. Kelly Wilfert is the farm management outreach specialist for the University of Wisconsin Extension Service. She says there are a lot of solar panels in Wisconsin, and farmers who might be looking into the topic should do their homework first.
“The Solar Energy Industries Association tells us that we’ve got about 2,500 megawatts of solar already in place here in Wisconsin, which, a megawatt’s about five to seven acres, so somewhere in the realm of 13,000 acres. I’m not saying they’re necessarily farmland acres, but in general, acres of solar that’s already here and happening. They say that in the next five years, they’re expecting another 4,500 megawatts, I believe. So certainly, you can see how that acreage would add up quickly. Farmers seem to be interested in it. To some extent – I should say farmers or landowners – from the perspective that those dollar signs will look pretty enticing. But there is a lot more in this contracts besides just the dollars, so we always encourage folks to take a good look at it with your lawyer and keep an eye out for anything that might trip you up long term.”
There may be some understandable hesitation from farmers because they can’t plow the land that holds solar panels.
“I will say my experience is specifically with large scale solar. So primarily that utility scale solar, where you’re going to have 100 megawatts, so close to 500 acres or more in a given project. That doesn’t mean you yourself have to have that much in a project, but just in that local area, in a specific development. If you are currently farming that land or renting it to a farmer, putting solar on it typically means that you’re not going to be able to farm it. However, there has been some interest in what we call agrivoltaics, so the idea that we have solar and agriculture together, whether that’s sheep that are grazing under the panels, whether that is based on the panels far enough apart that you may be able to farm strips in between, really, that conversation is up to you.”
One key factor is making sure farmers negotiate the entire contract situation and get the answers you need up front.
“If that’s something you’re interested in, you need to negotiate into the contract upfront, because you’re not going to have that same negotiating power, and the solar development company isn’t going to have the ability to change their structure down the road. It needs to be an upfront conversation.”
She says farmers will need to have legal representation during the negotiation process.
“These are really long, complicated documents. UW-Madison’s Division of Extension does have a number of resources, both a guide for leasing solar, where you can review what are some of the terms that you might see in this agreement, as well as what I call a companion conversation guide that’s going to help you ask some of those questions and write down the answers. The reason that’s important is because if you’re having a conversation with a solar developer and they’re making promises to you, and now you go to your lawyer with your contract and say, ‘ Well, can you review this for me?’ They can review it for sort of the standard things, but if the sole developer made a specific promise to you, and you don’t tell your attorney about that promise, or you don’t remember quite how that promise was phrased, they’re not necessarily going to know the look for it in the agreement.”
Resources are available for farmers at farms.extension.wisc.edu.