An inspector walks among solar panels off Peach Tree Lane in Winslow in November 2021. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

If developers of solar and wind projects want to build on Maine farmland, they soon will have to pay an extra fee.

A state law enacted last year requires such developers to pay into a fund that helps mitigate the environmental impacts of the project or conserve farmland elsewhere in Maine. It’s meant to protect agriculture while also advancing the state’s clean energy goals.

Now, officials are trying to decide how much developers should pay.

The Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry has drafted rules detailing how the law will be enforced, establishing a permitting structure for renewable energy developments built on “high-value agricultural land.”

Rep. Bill Pluecker, D-Warren, told state agriculture officials at a public hearing on Monday that the proposed rules seeking a compromise between protecting farms and encouraging zero-carbon energy are “super-challenging.”

“People are seeing the panels go up and they’re seeing the nature of their homes change and they’re uncomfortable by it,” said Pluecker, House chairman of the Legislature’s Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee. “Finding that balance so farms stay in business, the land stays open, stays in production but also finding the energy we need, is at the core of what we’re doing.”

Pluecker, who grows summer squash and green peppers, said in an interview that he supports the rules. “I think the focus needs to be on farm viability,” he said.

The public comment period will end Aug. 29 and if changes are needed, another public hearing will be scheduled, a DACF spokesman said.

The rules define high-value land, as verified by a field-based survey, to comprise 1 or more contiguous acres of prime farmland or 1 or more contiguous acres of land designated as locally valuable farmland that is not occupied by a residential, commercial or industrial use that will “substantially reduce” agricultural potential.

The Department of Environmental Protection is developing fees. State agriculture officials will use a point system that provides flexibility to weigh several factors according to their agricultural value. The point system serves the same function as a “compensation ratio,” such as a “wetland in-lieu fee,” a voluntary agreement between regulators and nonprofits or public agencies that authorize a fee to offset the impact of their actions on wetlands.

Chris Byers, owner of Branch Renewable Energy in North Yarmouth, said solar developers will potentially seek to fill wetlands as a less expensive alternative to installing solar projects on farmland, “which doesn’t make any sense to me.”

State legislation over the past few years has encouraged a shift from oil and gas to renewable electric power for cars and heating buildings. And the state’s Climate Action Plan, a blueprint for how to electrify Maine’s economy and prepare for a changing climate, strongly encourages solar development.

Until now, however, Maine has not had specific rules determining the siting of large solar arrays. Decisions have been left to developers and landowners and state and local permit reviews.

CONCERNS FROM DEVELOPERS

Kate Daniel, Northeast regional director of Coalition for Community Solar Access, told DACF officials that 900 megawatts – enough to power up to 900,000 average homes in New England – of commercial, community and utility-scale solar are produced on about 4,500 acres of farmland in Maine. That accounts for slightly more than 5% of the 82,000 acres of farmland lost in Maine since 2017, she said.

Solar energy is not the “main driver of concerns around agriculture land,” but can “protect and enhance” farmland communities by diversifying revenue, Daniel said.

Lindsay Bourgoine, ReVision Energy’s director of policy and government affairs, said in an interview that the renewable energy developer believes the rule is “more expansive and onerous than what we were anticipating.”

For example, the state proposes soil surveys and alternative analyses that would significantly increase the costs to build a solar farm, particularly smaller projects. And she said the rules single out solar energy while other developments on farmland, such as self-storage buildings, would not be required to pay compensation.

Renewable energy developers already face headwinds such as delays in connecting to the electricity grid and permits at the municipal, state and federal levels, Bourgoine said. “There are many, many hoops to jump through as a developer,” she said.

The rules would put up a “significant hurdle” to Maine’s targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Bourgoine said.