PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 20, 2024
If developers of solar and wind projects want to build on Maine farmland, they soon will have to pay an extra fee. A state law enacted last year requires such developers to pay into a fund that helps mitigate the environmental impacts of the project or conserve farmland elsewhere in Maine. It’s meant to protect agriculture while also advancing the state’s clean energy goals. Now, officials are trying to decide how much developers should pay. The Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry has drafted rules detailing how the law will be enforced, establishing a permitting structure for renewable energy developments built on “high-value agricultural land.”