Solar projects consume too much precious land locally

Editor:

The push for solar energy is often framed as a victory for the environment. But here in rural New York, what’s happening on the ground tells a very different story. Many solar developments are quietly stripping our farmland for profit while hiding behind a “clean energy” label.

Here’s how the process unfolds:

1. Landowners are lured with lease offers—20–30 years of “passive income.” But the fine print often includes surrendering soil rights, which most landowners don’t realize.

2. Once signed, developers strip the land of its topsoil, the living layer essential for farming. In its place, they truck in engineered sand—crushed rock that supports panel installation but kills the biology beneath.

3.  Solar developers then collect state and federal tax breaks, all funded by us, the taxpayers. Meanwhile, local resources are degraded.

4. The stripped soil isn’t just discarded—it’s sold. At $30–$50 per cubic yard, just 2,500 acres of topsoil can generate $75–$125 million in side profit for these companies. This isn’t renewable energy. It’s a resource grab.

5. Water runoff becomes a major issue. Engineered sand doesn’t absorb water like real soil. Rain now rushes off the land, causing erosion, flooding, and ecological damage across adjacent properties.

6. After 20 or 30 years, what’s left? Degraded, compacted land with no life in it. There is no guarantee of reclamation or restoration. The panels are obsolete, the companies are gone, and the land is ruined.

This is not a future we should accept. Solar, done right, can help us transition to sustainable energy. But what’s happening here in our region is nothing short of a soil heist—and it’s happening with our tax dollars.

We must demand better. That includes soil protection clauses in leases, local oversight of decommissioning plans, and transparency about what really happens to our land under solar projects.

If we lose our soil, we lose our ability to grow food, to hold water, to pass on land that’s worth something to the next generation.

Solar is a soul heist. Don’t let your legacy get stripped and sold off in the name of progress.

Gina L. Miller

Carlton, 100-acre land owner