Texas' solar-power boom alters landscape, sows rural ire

Texas Farm Bureau photo shows construction of solar site.

Solar energy is the fastest growing source of electricity in Texas, with the state projected to become one of the nation's top solar-power producers by the end of next year. But the proliferation of solar panels in rural areas has sparked controversy among residents, Julie Tomascik reports for the Texas Farm Bureau's Texas Agriculture Daily.

Solar energy development companies are offering farmers, ranchers and other landowners "lucrative leases, around $450 to $1,200 per acre per year with incremental increases. The leases range from 20-40 years, with the option for additional long-term renewals," Tomascik reports. "The steady income can help smooth out the financial roller coaster of growing crops and raising livestock, and there’s no cost to the landowner for 'raising' solar panels."

Detractors say they're not necessarily against solar energy, but they don't want it taking up valuable farming and ranching land. Less farming and ranching means less money for area businesses that sell fertilizer, feed, tractors, and more, they say. Also, "critics say development of these projects stresses rural infrastructure," Tomascik writes. "Farm-to-market and county roads built for occasional heavy loads are subjected to an onslaught of heavy machines and loaded gravel trucks. Crop fields and pastures once lush with livestock and new growth are covered with rock and guarded by chain-link fences topped with razor wire."

One of those critics, a farmer named Robert Fleming, organized a successful grassroots effort to convince the local school district to reject a tax abatement program for solar projects. A bill to extend the statewide solar tax-abatement program past 2022 failed in the legislature earlier this year.

The controversy over solar panels comes months after extreme winter weather knocked out power to much of Texas. The state mostly depends on natural gas for power, but poorly insulated pipelines left the power grid vulnerable. Solar panels work fine in winter as long as there's sun or sufficient battery storage, a technology that is still developing.