MAINE PUBLIC • September 30, 2024
Solar companies are competing with farmers for land. And developers are reportedly willing to pay annual leases of $1,000 per acre. New regulations proposed by the Department of Agriculture Conservation and Forestry are supposed to balance competing land uses. Developers of solar arrays bigger than five acres would need soil tests, and a permit and would also pay fees based on the land's agricultural value. Funds would be used for future land conservation. Craig Lapine, Bureau of Agriculture, Food & Rural Resources director said the aim is to create a disincentive for solar developers to target farmland.