ZTA 20-01 would allow commercial solar on 3 square miles of productive farmland in MoCo's Agricultural Reserve. The ZTA is deeply flawed on many fronts. There are scant protections for forests or water quality - all while sending power not to the State Community Solar Program - but to the wider grid where it can be sold by 3rd party companies that are under investigation for predatory practices. Full Fact Sheet here.
Boosters of this proposal have touted the (suggestion) of co-location of agriculture (i.e - grass that may or may not be grazed) and the requirement for certification under Maryland's Solar Pollinator Certification. This part is also deeply flawed and everyone who relies on pollinators (i.e - everyone) should be deeply concerned.
Boosters of this proposal have touted the (suggestion) of co-location of agriculture (i.e - grass that may or may not be grazed) and the requirement for certification under Maryland's Solar Pollinator Certification. This part is also deeply flawed and everyone who relies on pollinators (i.e - everyone) should be deeply concerned.
Testimony from our friends at Audubon Naturalist Society and Clean Water Action:
"This ZTA relies on Maryland’s solar pollinator requirements, which have been strongly protested by the beekeeping and pollinator community. As the Central Maryland Beekeepers and Maryland Pesticide Education Network have previously raised, the existing state standard allows for a solar facility to qualify as exceeding pollinator habitat standards while routinely spraying pesticides. This is unacceptable. This effectively invites pollinators to visit the habitat while poisoning them.
No pollinator habitat should be certified that allows the routine spraying of pollinator-killing pesticides. While the state program is flawed, Montgomery County should reject it and create their own that does not allow for the routine spraying of pesticides."
"This ZTA relies on Maryland’s solar pollinator requirements, which have been strongly protested by the beekeeping and pollinator community. As the Central Maryland Beekeepers and Maryland Pesticide Education Network have previously raised, the existing state standard allows for a solar facility to qualify as exceeding pollinator habitat standards while routinely spraying pesticides. This is unacceptable. This effectively invites pollinators to visit the habitat while poisoning them.
No pollinator habitat should be certified that allows the routine spraying of pollinator-killing pesticides. While the state program is flawed, Montgomery County should reject it and create their own that does not allow for the routine spraying of pesticides."
Currently, though stakeholders were assured of a task force process that would better involve farmers, the Council has instead chosen to send the proposal back to the same committee that approved it in the first place without adding substantive amendments, chaired by the sponsor of the measure - Councilmember Riemer. The potential harm to pollinators of this bill is just one of many, many issues that still need to be worked through. Please stay tuned as we navigate this process to get solar right in Montgomery County.
