Mo-Co Alliance
  • Home
  • About Us
    • What We Do
    • A Brief History
    • Board & AC
    • Staff & Volunteers
    • Contact
    • Buy MCA Gear
  • About Ag Reserve
    • Growing Legacy Film
    • History of the Ag Reserve
    • Benefits of the Ag Reserve
    • Agriculture Education
    • Farm Facts
    • Threats to the Ag Reserve
    • A Place with Purpose
  • News
  • Events
    • Local Events
    • Royce Hanson Award
    • Ride for Reserve
  • Support Local
    • Agricultural Guide
    • Local Food Connection
    • Good Fences Grant
    • Community Supported Agriculture
    • Restaurants & Retail
    • Artists of the Reserve
  • Community Resources
    • Land Link >
      • Labor Link
    • Re-leaf the Reserve
    • PLENTY Magazine
    • Producer's Resources
    • BIPOC Farmer Guide
    • Directory of Local Services
    • Friends of Ten Mile Creek
  • Membership
    • Sponsors and Partners

News

Action Needed: Large Scale Solar Arrays on Productive Farmland

8/5/2020

 
Picture
The 2 minute story of Commercial Scale Solar proposed in the Ag Reserve (ZTA 20-01): 
​

-Around 3 square miles of commercial scale solar is proposed for Montgomery County's Ag Reserve under ZTA 20-01, first proposed in January 2020. The ZTA will have a vote in September at the full County Council.  

-Despite many hundreds of letters of concern since January from both up and downcounty, this ZTA still has scant/toothless protection for water quality, forests, and notably productive soils - this in the only part of the County set aside for Agriculture. Reserve farms are mostly on productive soil classes 2 and 3 - there are no protections for these soils in this ZTA (map and table of who farms what soil here). In fact the architect of this ZTA, Councilmember Hans Riemer really showed his retisence to protect agriculture in the Ag Reserve when he said the difference between soil types allowed for siting commercial arrays was akin to roof color, asking "Why would we limit solar to only blue roofs?"

@hansriemer soil class on a farm will determine what food can be grown, comparing it to roof color is rather ludicrous.

— MoCoAlliance (@MoCoAlliance) July 22, 2020
This lack of understanding is the reason the council committee voted to only protect the soils in red (class 1), which through productive, are all riparian buffers or on islands in the Potomac, not farmable. 
Picture
-Missing from this discussion is what a commercial non-ag use will do to current and future farmers, many of whom lease their land - including every farmer seeking land through our Land Link program. Solar arrays pay more per acre to the landowner but this land was set aside for one purpose...agriculture and solar arrays take land out of farming.

-Though we all want to see the county embrace renewable energy, there is disagreement about this flawed ZTA among local environmental groups. Here are the misconceptions supporters of this ZTA have - notably that arrays would have to be part of the Maryland Community Solar Portfolio meant to be accessible to low income people- false. Without clear stipulation that these commercial facilities will be part of the  community solar initiative, energy generated will simply flow to the regional grid providing neither affordable energy for local consumers nor satisfying Montgomery County’s mandate for carbon neutral by 2035.

Before the Council votes on this ZTA next month, they need to hear from you, or hear from you again.  Please take 2 minutes to take action - and thank you!
Take Action
Update: July 2020:
It seems that despite the pandemic, the council will be taking up this ZTA allowing siting industrial solar arrays in the Ag Reserve with no protections for productive soils or forests. The findings of the county's climate working group are clear as the Working Group Chair (reiterated in an email here to the Council here  and again by MCA  and also by Reserve Architect Dr. Royce Hanson. ) - the Ag Reserve is not the place for industrial solar. (The Maryland Farm Bureau agrees)

​An Electrical Systems Engineer Expert Weighs In "You can't change the laws of Physics....
ZTA 20-01 is not the answer."


The pandemic makes it very difficult for people to properly participate in the public process (particularly in the Ag Reserve where broadband is not universal) but it has put a fine point on the critical value of local farms and local food. Our Land Link program has connected new and expanding farmers with over 500+ acres of leased land. Non-Ag uses like industrial solar make land leases, the lifeblood of farm ventures large and small in MoCo, much less likely to happen with severe impacts on next generation table crop producers - particularly those from under represented backgrounds.  Multi generation ag producers are also opposed to this ZTA.
Click Read More on below for all the background on this issue. 
​
Take Action
The first committee hearing on this issue was on July 9, read our wrap up here.  The second was on July 16 and is wrapped up here.  The final committee hearing was on 7/22 and the ZTA - still lacking soil/forest/water protections is headed to the full council in September. 

January 2020
After Hearing Update: Last night was the hearing on ZTA 20-01 Giving voice to the imperative to act with forethought and science and sound public policy as guides with regard to climate change adaptation and mitigation. 
 Huge thanks to those who have given their voices through correspondence/calls in the quest to get this right.
There is still time to weigh in as the zoning proposal goes to committee later this month. Writing in takes 2 minutes when you use our quick letter writer here. ​

Hearing can be viewed here 
Read our full hearing wrap up here

Picture

Update: We've just heard from Dr. David Blockstein, member of the Climate Change Working Group. Like other members of the group his is also urging the Council to await the Climate Action plan that has just been released for public comment - From his testimony "Yes, we have an emergency and we need to act now, but that does not mean that we should forgo analysis and leap to conclusions about where to best put solar generation facilities." The final clean energy plan and the associated summary report  show the working group is prioritizing solar in urban areas and carefully considering environmental and human equity impacts. (for more info on baseline data, see the clean energy working group kick off presentation here.)
Another link of interest - the Abell Foundation of Baltimore has released a report on best practices for siting solar arrays in Maryland - spoiler alert- not on prime farmland. 
Climate Change is an emergency - let's meet this challenge with a comprehensive plan.
UPDATE: The Planning Board just gave preliminary approval to this ZTA- Among the misguided statements, Board Chair Casey Anderson recommended: 
  • putting arrays in wetlands and stream corridors
  • arrays are fine for prime soils, no protections necessary
  • arrays are fine on steep slopes (according to solar promotional material in front of him) 
  • no need to wait for tax payer funded County climate change working group and contractor plan
Throughout the hearing, Chair Anderson and other board members acknowledged that they know very little about solar facilities, soil ecology, agriculture.... Why can't we wait for the experts the County has already paid for to come up with a plan here? Take 2 minutes to share your concerns with the Council here. 
Update: Testimony Urges Caution
  • MCA's Testimony delivered at the Hearing on 3/3 "The stated premise that our protected farmland and open space must give way right now to an industrial use because of urgency and in the absence of a comprehensive plan is deeply flawed"
  •  Read comments on this ZTA from Royce Hanson (architect of the Ag Reserve and Chair of MCA's Advisory Committee). Bottom Line: "While the motives for the ZTA may be noble, it would seem prudent to think a bit more before acting; to first develop a strategy for achieving the county’s commendable green energy goals in the context of a regional and state strategy. The technology and its costs are changing rapidly. Time is of the essence, but so is avoiding harm in the rush to do good." 
  • League of Women Voters - LWV of MoCo say look to the master plan and don't change the zoning of the Ag Reserve.
  • The Bethesda- Chevy Chase Chapter of the Izaak Walton League Opposes this ZTA "From a conservation, agricultural and food security perspective, more thought must be given to the alternative uses of the spaces on which solar arrays may be placed."
  • West Montgomery County Citizens Association "Until all possibilities have been explored, there is no excuse for sacrificing farmland." 
  • Montgomery County Stormwater Partners Network (38 local civic orgs) "To be in harmony with the Ag Reserve’s climate response role, County zoning code must guide utility-scale solar to compatible locations. This ZTA must wait until the County’s Climate Action Plan and General Plan Update (Thrive 2050) are completed."
Councilmember Riemer's Office has released proposed Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 20-01 that would allow "community solar" (that would actually create power for other states, read on) on up to 1800 acres in Montgomery County's Agricultural Reserve. While we do need to enact a wide variety of solutions, including solar, to meet the County's ambitious (but necessary) goal of no net carbon emissions by 2035 , a careful review of solutions is being undertaken by a taxpayer funded Climate Change Working Group made up of scientists, students, community leaders and other professionals organized into technical committees tackling 7 different areas. Since July this group has been laser focused on creating a plan that will implement county-wide solutions, including solar, in a collaborative way. This process needs to be allowed to finish before solutions are implemented - particularly a solution that could take farmland out of production in the Agricultural Reserve. 

Learn more about this ZTA and take action (before 3/1) here.

Read testimony from our Executive Director made at the Poolesville Town Hall on this ZTA. 


Update: This "community solar" initiative would be sited on Montgomery County's crowning land use achievement to protect farmland but any power created would  not be used in MoCo. So... these (nearly 2000 Reserve acres) would be commercial facilities whose power can be purchased by other States and would not provide for local access to affordable energy. When asked about this discrepancy... this reply:
As introduced, there is no requirement in ZTA 20-01 that the new solar generator be in the state’s community solar program.
The only limitation on the type of solar is that it must be capable of being connected to the electric grid.

Jeff Zyontz
Senior Legislative Analyst
Montgomery County Council
In proposing the ZTA that would take working farmland out of production for solar production - with no protections for fertile soils, water quality, habitat or forested areas - Councilmember Riemer says the Ag Reserve must "do its part" to battle Climate Change. We already are:
  • With programs like Re-Leaf the Reserve which provides plantings of native trees to sequester carbon, reduce flooding and improve air quality,
  • The promotion of regenerative agricultural practices which increase resilience to climate change
  • And helping to preserve farmland to ensure food security in close proximity to our metro center
  • As laid out in MCA's Climate Change Response position statement from March 2019- carbon reductions must go hand in hand with water quality protection and other goals as outlined in the Master Plan.
There is still more we can do - as the UN has identified, wise land use is a key climate solution, Montgomery County is ahead of the game in having the open spaces that can be managed for maximum carbon sequestration and resilience - particularly on the topic of food security. MCA was asked to brief the Climate Working Group and provided this overview of how the Reserve can help the County achieve its carbon reduction goals and help local farms weather the changes that are already happening in our warmer world.
Share your concerns about large solar arrays on farmland by sending the Council a quick email here (thru 3/1)

Further Reading- How Industrial Solar Impacts...

Farmland and Agriculture:
  • North Carolina has moved more substantively into solar arrays on farmland. Extension agents and crop scientists are sounding the alarm on the long term effects of solar for the land and the economy:"Big Solar Farms May be Stressing the Agricultural Ecosystem" Carolina Journal
  • In Virginia, rural tidewater counties are also dealing with solar companies seeking large tracts of cheap land. The MCA equivalent organization in Essex County, VA details the water quality challenges, economic issues and other problems with the solar boom there. 
Wildlands and Wildlife:
  • The Wilderness Society answers the question "Where should we site renewable energy production?" - industrial areas. 
  • The Impact of Renewable Energy Generation on Wildlife - University of Nebraska Lincoln 
  • Re-Planting Forests is a powerful and cost effective piece of the climate change solution - However, forests themselves are at risk as the result of warming temperatures. Clear cutting for solar releases greenhouse gasses. USDA Mid-Atlantic Forest Vulnerability Assessment
Avoiding Conflict in Siting Panels:
  • Industrial Solar has big impacts around the world If planned thoughtfully, solar projects can avoid land-use conflict. "The Dark Side of the Sun: Avoiding Conflict Over Solar Energy’s Land and Water Demands" The Wilson Center
  • In Brooklyn, affordable housing is a new frontier for solar installations that have benefits for owners and tenants. 

Comments are closed.
    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Action
    Barnesville Oaks/Greentree
    Bike
    Climate Change
    CSA
    Development
    Education
    Energy
    Events
    Fun!
    Growing Legacy
    Land Link
    Local Food
    Master Plan Update
    Mega Church
    Montgomery Council
    News
    Open Space
    Outer Beltway
    Parks
    Planning
    Potomac Bridge
    Racial Justice
    Recent Accomplishments
    Recipes
    Reducing Waste
    Regenerative Ag
    Releaf
    Rocklands
    Rural Schools
    Sewer
    Solar
    Take Action Now
    Ten Mile Creek
    Thrive 2050
    Transporation
    Water

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2012
    September 2012
    November 2010
    October 2010

ABOUT US
What We Do
A Brief History
Board & AC
Staff & Volunteers
Contact
​​Buy MCA Gear
ABOUT Ag RESERVE
History of the Ag
Benefits of the Ag
Farm Facts
Threats to the Ag
​A Place with Purpose
NEWS
EVENTS
Local Events
Ride for the Reserve
Royce Hanson Award
SUPPORT LOCAL
Ag Guide
Local Food Connection
Community Supported Agriculture
Restaurants & Retail
​Artists of the Reserve
COMMUNITY RESOURCES
​Land Link
Producer's Resources
Directory of Services
Picture
Montgomery Countryside Alliance
P.O Box 24, Poolesville, MD  20837
301-461-9831  •  ​info@mocoalliance.org
Picture
Picture
Picture

Picture
MCA is proud to announce that we have been recognized for a third time as one of the best small charities in the D.C. region by Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington. A panel of 110 expert reviewers from area foundations, corporate giving programs, and peer non-profit organizations evaluated 270 applications.

​MCA is known as an effective and innovative non-profit whose efforts to preserve and promote Montgomery County’s nationally recognized 93,000 acre Ag Reserve have brought increased public and governmental support of local food production and farmland and open space preservation. Most importantly, MCA’s efforts are putting more farmers on the ground and keeping them there.
COPYRIGHT © MONTGOMERY COUNTRYSIDE ALLIANCE 2008