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Farmers boost their income by also farming sunlight

“It is the sweet spot,”.. it doesn’t interfere with existing farming or grazing on prime lands. “It’s a way of getting yield from land that’s not paying enough.”…..

 the benefits of generating green energy are great, but the best part is that once the 20-year solar lease expires, the land can return to agricultural use….. “Years down the road it could revert to [agricultural] land,” .. “It was a win-win for everyone.”

Solar Energy Grows on North American Farms,13 Apr 2012, CNBC.co By: Trevor Curwin, A California solar power project developer is teaming with farmers to expand use of the alternative energy.  “It’s basically an opportunity to farm the sun,” says Recurrent Energy CEO Arno Harris, about his firm’s plans to build 500 megawatts of solar photovoltaic, PV, installations on farms in California and the Canadian province of Ontario.

The firm has contracted dozens of farmers in both areas, building five- to 20-megawatt solar PV installations on otherwise marginal farmland.

Ontario pays a premium to renewable energy producers, while
California’s aggressive goal of providing 33 percent of its
electricity needs from renewable energy resources by 2020 makes it an
attractive market.

As a solar project developer, Harris says his firm, a subsidiary of
electronics giant Sharp Corp., is always hunting for the right parcel
of land to lease for a solar power plant.

Typically, the ideal land would need to have power transmission lines
nearby, easy road access, positive community reaction, and clearly
defined ownership.

Farms often provide all of those conditions, he says….. “It is the
sweet spot,” he says, adding that it doesn’t interfere with existing
farming or grazing on prime lands. “It’s a way of getting yield from
land that’s not paying enough.”…..
Lux’s Feinstein says he still sees global utility-scale solar
capacity doubling from 6.3 gigawatts in 2011 to 13.8 gigawatts in
2017.

For farm families like Stewarts, the benefits of generating green energy are great, but the best part is that once the 20-year solar lease expires, the land can return to agricultural use.

That was the thinking when Stewart’s father, who died in early 2012,
signed the agreement with Recurrent.

“He wanted to a find a way to keep the ranch in the family,” says
daughter Glenda, adding that of the original 160-acre land grant, a
quarter had been sold off previously, a common fate for farmland,
often a farmer’s only real asset.

But she says with this solar project, the land’s options are more open.

“Years down the road it could revert to [agricultural] land,” she says. “It was a win-win for everyone.”
http://www.cnbc.com/id/46837386

April 14, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, renewable, USA