These quotes from the APA’s Planning Advisory Service memo flag how important it is to understand what happens to land used for large-scale solar projects after those projects have been removed. Most importantly, it is critical to ensure that the project owner will be held accountable for returning the land to its original condition. However, doing that will be a challenge for localities:

  • A primary impact of utility-scale solar facilities is the removal of forest or agricultural land from active use. An argument often made by the solar industry is that this preserves the land for future agricultural use, and applicants typically state that the land will be restored to its previous condition. This is easiest when the land was initially used for grazing, but it is still not without its challenges, particularly over large acreages. Land with significant topography, active agricultural land, or forests is more challenging to restore.
  • It is important that planners consider whether the industrial nature of a utility-scale solar use is compatible with the locality’s vision. Equally as important are imposing conditions that will enforce the assertions made by applicants regarding the future restoration of the site and denying applications where those conditions are not feasible.

planning for utility-scale solar energy facilities, p 4

See also: