Wind and solar projects provide a secure source of income for family farmers.
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The Potts Farm and Renewables
Renee Potts’ Mom and Dad purchased a farm near Palo after her dad left the Navy. For many happy years it was home to the Potts family.
Renee and her siblings all have careers, making it difficult for them to keep the family farm when they inherit it. Leasing a small corner of their land to a solar farm provides the family with the financial stability to keep their parents’ legacy in the family.
“It’s our right to keep it in the family. Solar enables us to do that. Not only for us, but for future generations,” Renee says.
Everyone Benefits from Renewable Energy Projects
For example, a recent study found that counties with wind energy projects saw 5% increases of income per capita and 2.6% on home values, compared to counties with no wind projects.
Iowa's renewable energy economy supports 13,000 jobs.
$58.8 Million in property, state and local taxes in 2022
We support increasing the American production of solar panels. Once a panel is in place it produces energy from the sun shining on American soil and does not depend on ongoing and continuous supply of fuel from foreign sources, which is not true of other types of energy. Adding more solar now helps reduce American reliance on continuous imports of foreign energy now, moving us further towards our goal of energy independence.
According to the Clean Energy Association: “Wind power is far less harmful to wildlife than traditional energy sources it displaces, including to birds and their critical habitats. Overall, wind causes less than 0.01% of all human-related bird deaths. Other causes include buildings (550 million), power lines (130 million), cars (80 million), pesticide poisoning, (67 million), and radio and cell towers (6.8 million).”
Proper soil management during the project contributes to agricultural sustainability. Farmers can resume planting crops after decommissioning if they choose.
Many farmers who lease a portion of their land to renewable energy companies are provided with financial security. This allows them to continue to farm the rest of their land and keep the land in their families.
The construction of wind and solar farms is not funded by the government or taxpayers, but rather private companies making an investment in renewables. No local tax dollars will be used to build these projects.
Solar panels are solid and sealed and cannot be penetrated by rainwater. In the same way the screens on the smartphones we carry with us all the time do not leak, solar panels do not leach.
Solar developers make plans to control erosion and runoff by adding vegetation around the panels, as well as beautify the site with natural buffers. They also set aside money to restore the land to the same or better condition it was in before, after the solar farm lease ends, so farmers can resume crop farming, if they wish.
Tell Your Supervisors – Support Renewable Energy
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