White House Will Recruit Rural Land for New Clean Energy Projects, Could It Create Too Much Competition for Land?

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January 14, 2022

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by Tyne Morgan (Farm Journal AgWeb) The Biden Administration is ramping up its efforts to deploy clean energy infrastructure across the country. The White House announced this week plans to utilize public lands and rural America for wind, solar and other clean energy projects, but admits it will be a balance to ensure the efforts don’t create too much competition for land.

The Biden Administration says the plan is designed to create jobs across rural America, while lowering the cost of energy. President Biden’s National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy did a one-on-one interview with AgWeb. She says by advancing wind, solar, transmission and other clean energy projects, America is one step closer to cleaner and cheaper energy. And they are doing so by utilizing help from multiple federal agencies, including the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Interior, Energy, as well as EPA.

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Prioritize clean energy deployment in rural communities
Provide financing for agricultural producers and small businesses to install solar arrays and other clean energy infrastructure
Create new Rural Energy Pilot Program with $10 million in grants
Build clean transmission lines
Help local governments speed up approvals for rooftop solar in order to unlock economic and health benefits for their communities

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McCarthy points out the recently passed Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is the largest investment in the nation’s power grid. And she says by using that money to build thousand of miles of new transmission lines, it will provide clean and affordable electricity that’s reliable at a time when areas battle extreme weather, wildfires and other disasters.

Increased Competition for Farmland

The announcement also comes as farmland values soared in 2021, with little signs of a slowdown in 2022. More investors are also increasing the competition for land.

The most recent Ag Land Survey conducted by the Chicago Federal Reserve, found overall, agricultural land values surged 18% year over year during the third quarter of last year. And just looking at “good” farmland values, those were up 6% across Iowa, portions of Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana. READ MORE

The largest remaining tall-grass prairie in Texas is getting solar panels. Environmentalists can’t stop it. A solar facility on a 3,594-acre tract of land has environmental groups searching for a way to save what they consider a living museum (Washington Post)

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