We are the concerned citizens who live in Montgomery County and we are proud to call it home. We have some concerns of how industrial solar farms would affect our county and community.
If industrial solar farms were to come to our county, it would not only take valuable farmland out of production, it would also affect our local businesses and employment opportunities. The industries that would be affected include grain merchandisers, fertilizer plants, local seed dealerships, excavating companies, farm drainage companies, Realtors, ag loan officers, farm machinery businesses, farm mechanics, crop insurance agents, tenant farmers, farm supply stores, grain storage builders and insurance agents to name a few.
Our county has been striving to attract and retain the next generation to stay and to become active in our community. By allowing industrial solar farms to come into our community that would jeopardize the future of the next generation to remain vibrant in our county and community. If industrial solar farms were built in our county it would have a positive impact on local businesses such as hotels, restaurants and stores while constructing the solar farms, but when the project is complete the people who built it would move onto the next job site.
If industrial solar farms were located throughout our rural area how would that attract people wanting to move to our county? Would people want to buy and live near an industrial solar farm that is surrounded by a black fence that is 8-12 feet tall and has lights around the fence illuminating the night sky? If industrial solar farms surrounded homes how would that affect the homes’ value? What would the value of the land that is not used for industrial solar farms be? Industrial solar farms would completely change the landscape of our county.
Some of us have children who want to farm. If industrial solar farms come to our county and take land out of production, there will be fewer acres to farm. Many farmers will lose the ability to buy and to cash rent farmland. With fewer acres being farmed how will the younger farmers be able to continue to farm or even be able to start farming? With taking land out of production and using it for industrial solar farms how will livestock owners spread or use manure? With farmland being taken out of production it would alter our soil types and soil fertility. This would also cause soil compaction due to the use of the large equipment being used to build industrial solar farms. Our county has many families who have lived and farmed for many generations. How many generations have industrial solar farms been present and will they last for multiple generations?
With fewer acres being farmed how will that affect our food supply? In this time of food shortages due to wars and other factors, is it wise to take 1.1 million bushels out of production?
Having industrial solar farms could cause draining issues along with water run off. Draining issues could affect residential homes’ basements, foundations and septic systems that are near industrial solar farms. Current field tiles could be damaged by the installation of industrial solar farms.
How would tornadoes and high wind affect the industrial solar farms and the safety of the residents living near the industrial solar farms? Having solar farms increases the risk of fires. With having several to hundreds of acres of industrial solar farms that are surrounded by a fence how would fire trucks be able to access a possible fire and contain it? What would happen to the habitats of the wildlife, birds and insects with being surrounded by industrial solar farms? Currently, the ability to store solar energy is not available or cost effective. Is solar really the energy we want when needing to charge our electric cars or turn on our heat when it is 10 below in the long Indiana winter? If an industrial solar farm is near your home would the use of an air conditioner be used more due to the additional heat from the solar panels? The solar energy that would be produced from the industrial solar farms are not going to be used for our county and will be used elsewhere.
Many believe that the experts are the people who know what is best for you and your family, but who are these experts? Someone at a university who studies numbers and statistics? Who funded the study? We wonder how many of them live in the country? We wonder if they understand the beauty of a combine and a grain cart silhouetted against an October Indiana sunset? How many of the experts would like to or do live right next door to an industrial solar farm?
We are asking the plan commission and commissioners to consider all aspects of how industrial solar farms will change and affect our county and community. Many have emailed, called and left messages multiple times with the commissioners and have not received returned emails or phone calls. We ask that you consider these things when thinking of possibly wanting to welcome industrial solar farms into our county and community.
The Concerned Citizens of Montgomery County submitted this guest column.
