The recent passing of the Inflation Reduction Act signed by the President puts a significant emphasis on renewable energy generation and production. One of those areas is solar energy and according to Trusted Energy’s CEO Rob Hoch, this puts his company and those like him in a good position to build and maintain solar farms in the area.
Trusted Energy has sights on potential projects in Iowa and the reason is because the economy favors business and industry development in the state.
The continual argument heard from nearly every farmer is that this will mean the loss of top-quality farmland which in turn feeds the world. However, there are farms that may have unfarmable to low farmable areas that would be more beneficial to have solar arrays built on them.
Concerns have been raised about drainage systems either in the field or along county tile. According to area drainage clerks in several counties, including Winnebago, similar renewable generation projects like wind have seen nearly immediate attention to construction induced drainage issues.
Hoch stated that solar arrays installation should be up to the farmer.
The American Farmland Trust has come out with the statistic that between 2001 and 2016, nearly 11 million acres of farmland was lost to clean energy projects, expansion of cities and communities, and overall growth. However, they, “…applaud Congress for including in the Inflation Reduction Act, a historic investment of nearly $20 billion in agricultural conservation. Farmers and ranchers are critical allies in the fight against climate change, but they need tools and resources to protect their land, increase resilience to extreme weather, sequester carbon in the soil, and reduce emissions.”
