logo
Weather page
GET THE APP
ePaper
google_play
app_store
  • Login
  • E-Edition
  • News
  • Sports
  • Obits
  • Opinion
  • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • All Listings
    • Jobs
  • Special Sections
  • Photo Gallery
  • Contests
  • Lifestyle/Entertainment
  • Games
    • News
      • Local News
      • PA State News
      • Nation/World
    • Sports
      • Local
      • College Sports
      • State
      • National
    • Obits
    • Opinion
      • News
        • Local News
        • PA State News
        • Nation/World
      • Sports
        • Local
        • College Sports
        • State
        • National
      • Obits
      • Opinion
    logo
    • Classifieds
      • Place an Ad
      • All Listings
      • Jobs
    • E-Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Login
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • All Listings
        • Jobs
      • E-Edition
      • Subscribe
      • Login
    Home News
    Stable profits, land preservation matter to farmers debating solar leases
    National News, News, PA State News
    February 14, 2024

    Stable profits, land preservation matter to farmers debating solar leases

    UNIVERSITY PARK — To solar or not to solar? While a stable and predictable profit is an important factor to Pennsylvania farmers considering leasing out their land for solar energy development, it’s not enough on its own, according to new research led by Penn State.

    Kaitlyn Spangler, assistant professor of community development and engagement in the College of Agricultural Sciences and lead author on the study, said the findings are a steppingstone to understanding the state of solar energy development in rural communities across Pennsylvania and identifying ways to help ensure that these agreements are mutually beneficial.

    For the study, recently published in Energy Research & Social Science, the researchers interviewed farmers and solar stakeholders from across Pennsylvania about how they made decisions regarding solar leases. In these agreements, farmers typically rent out their land to solar developers for an initial period of 25 to 30 years, during which solar panels are installed on the land and render it unusable for growing crops.

    The researchers found that in some cases, farm owners declined these leases because they felt their land was too valuable not to use for agriculture. For example, they felt it was important to farm on land kept in their family for generations or needed every acre to ensure their farm stays profitable.

    On the flip side, some described the impermanence of solar panels as a selling point, especially when compared to selling land for industrial development. In these cases, farmers described solar leases as a way to protect their land and preserve the option for the family to potentially farm it again once the lease contract expires.

    “We want transitions toward renewable energy to be centered on justice and equity while valuing the dynamic needs of rural communities, among others,” Spangler said. “This research helps chart a path toward increasing the transparency of where, how and for whom these transitions are already occurring.”

    Solar energy has become more popular as an alternative form of energy in recent years, the researchers said. Not only does the sun provide the most abundant source of energy available on Earth, but solar photovoltaics — devices that gather energy from the sun and are more commonly known as solar panels — have dropped in price significantly over the past decade.

    Solar photovoltaics require large areas of land that ideally are close to infrastructure such as electric substations, making some areas of farmland an attractive option for installation.

    Hailing from Berks County, Spangler said she found herself in conversations with an extended family member who also happened to be a fourth-generation dairy farmer, discussing the fact that solar developers had been approaching local farmers.

    “Some of those leases got approved, others did not, and others were not even entertained by the farmers and their families,” Spangler said. “I wanted to understand more broadly why and how these processes and decisions were taking shape.”

    For the analysis, the researchers interviewed nine solar stakeholders — including representatives from solar companies, solar lease lawyers and municipal officials — and nine farmers from across the state who had been offered a solar lease for their farm and/or are engaged in on-farm solar leasing.

    Spangler said Pennsylvania is an interesting place for the study because of its vast network of power lines and energy infrastructure, as well as a strong presence of small-scale and family-owned farms.

    “Pennsylvania has a complex mixed-use landscape with long, complicated histories of energy extraction, like coal mining and fracking, in rural communities,” she said. “So, in many ways, Pennsylvania provides a fascinating opportunity to understand how renewable energy transitions build from what has happened in the past toward something new.”

    In addition to data about how farmers make decisions about whether to enter leases, the researchers also gained insight into how common certain practices are in those lease agreements.

    They found that “agrivoltaics” — the simultaneous use of land for both agriculture and solar energy generation — is not standard in most solar leases. For example, sheep could be grazed under solar panels, or other dual-use options could be explored to continue active agriculture.

    In this study, farmers and developers described agrivoltaics as a potential priority in future years, but they often did not factor it into their current long-term plans. In the College of Agricultural Sciences, other research teams are assessing the feasibility and impacts of dual land use options, such as specialty crop production, that may provide easier-to-implement agrivoltaics in the future.

    Spangler said they also found that nondisclosure agreements and option contracts are common in the beginning stages of a leasing process.

    “These types of agreements are a departure from the days of oil and gas leases and may be a barrier to farmers collectively discussing and negotiating fair lease terms,” Spangler said. “This might limit farmers from openly communicating about how to navigate energy options that are best for them.”

    In the future, the researchers said, additional studies could include a broader number of farmers, broaden the focus to include the mediating roles and relationships of utility companies, and work to better understand the desires and needs of implicated rural communities.

    Erica Smithwick, distinguished professor of geography at Penn State; Stephanie Buechler, associate research professor at Penn State; and Jennifer Baka, associate professor of geography at Penn State, also co-authored the paper.

    Tags:

    agriculture business and commercial law electricity electrotechnics energy finance finance (private) job market law physics social science sociology the economy trade zootechnics

    The Bradford Era

    Local & Social
    Latest news for you
    Focus on men during Mental Health Awareness Month
    Lifestyles
    Focus on men during Mental Health Awareness Month
    May 11, 2025
    (TNS) — Dear Healthy Men: Do men’s and women’s mental health issues and needs differ? And if so, how? A: With May being Mental Health Awareness Month,...
    Read More...
    {"to-print":"To print", "bradfordera-website":"Website"}
    Day 1 of AMCC Softball Championships:  Wins for Pitt-Greensburg, PS-Behrend & PS-Altoona
    College Sports, Pitt Bradford, Softball, ...
    Day 1 of AMCC Softball Championships: Wins for Pitt-Greensburg, PS-Behrend & PS-Altoona
    Jo Wankel j.wankel@bradfordera.com 
    May 10, 2025
    The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford hosted Day 1 of the AMCC Softball Championships Friday. Penn State-Behrend, Pitt-Greensburg and Penn State-Al...
    Read More...
    {"bradfordera-website":"Website"}
    Fiancee treats man more like a child than as a partner
    Lifestyles
    Fiancee treats man more like a child than as a partner
    May 10, 2025
    DEAR ABBY: I’m engaged to a delightful woman from a foreign country. She’s a divorcee, and her 19-year-old son is doing well in college. She essential...
    Read More...
    {"bradfordera-website":"Website"}
    ‘Round the Square: ‘You won’t have a calculator in your pocket’
    News, Round the Square
    ‘Round the Square: ‘You won’t have a calculator in your pocket’
    May 10, 2025
    NO MORE: Remember standing near the landline phone, twirling the code around your fingers as you chatted with a bestie or a sweetie? Or, in Bradford, ...
    Read More...
    {"bradfordera-website":"Website"}
    Q&A with the DA: E-bikes (aka electronic bikes or pedalcycles with electronic assist)
    Headlines, Local News, News, ...
    Q&A with the DA: E-bikes (aka electronic bikes or pedalcycles with electronic assist)
    STEPHANIE VETTENBURG-SHAFFER McKean County District Attorney 
    May 10, 2025
    (Editor’s note: The information in this special series is for educational purposes only and is not intended to address any particular case, nor should...
    Read More...
    {"bradfordera-website":"Website"}
    Fixing the supports of a trampoline
    Lifestyles
    Fixing the supports of a trampoline
    May 10, 2025
    Dear Heloise: I've had a trampoline in my backyard for many years and realized the very thin pipe insulation around the supports that hold the net up ...
    Read More...
    {"bradfordera-website":"Website"}
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    This Week's Ads
    Current e-Edition
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    Already a subscriber? Click the image to view the latest e-edition.
    Don't have a subscription? Click here to see our subscription options.
    Mobile App

    Download Now

    The Bradford Era mobile app brings you the latest local breaking news, updates, and more. Read the Bradford Era on your mobile device just as it appears in print.

    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    Trending Recipes

    Help Our Community

    Please help local businesses by taking an online survey to help us navigate through these unprecedented times. None of the responses will be shared or used for any other purpose except to better serve our community. The survey is at: www.pulsepoll.com $1,000 is being awarded. Everyone completing the survey will be able to enter a contest to Win as our way of saying, "Thank You" for your time. Thank You!

    Get in touch with The Bradford Era
    Submit Content
    • Submit News
    • Letter to the Editor
    • Place Wedding Announcement
      • Submit News
      • Letter to the Editor
      • Place Wedding Announcement
    Advertise
    • Place Birth Announcement
    • Place Anniversary Announcement
    • Place Obituary Call (814) 368-3173
      • Place Birth Announcement
      • Place Anniversary Announcement
      • Place Obituary Call (814) 368-3173
    Subscribe
    • Start a Subscription
    • e-Edition
    • Contact Us
      • Start a Subscription
      • e-Edition
      • Contact Us
    CMG | Community Media Group
    Illinois
    • Hancock Journal-Pilot
    • Iroquois Times-Republic
    • Journal-Republican
    • The News-Gazette
      • Hancock Journal-Pilot
      • Iroquois Times-Republic
      • Journal-Republican
      • The News-Gazette
    Indiana
    • Fountain Co. Neighbor
    • Herald Journal
    • KV Post News
    • Newton Co. Enterprise
    • Rensselaer Republican
    • Review-Republican
      • Fountain Co. Neighbor
      • Herald Journal
      • KV Post News
      • Newton Co. Enterprise
      • Rensselaer Republican
      • Review-Republican
    Iowa
    • Atlantic News Telegraph
    • Audubon Advocate-Journal
    • Barr’s Post Card News
    • Burlington Hawk Eye
    • Collector’s Journal
    • Fayette County Union
    • Ft. Madison Daily Democrat
    • Independence Bulletin-Journal
    • Keokuk Daily Gate City
    • Oelwein Daily Register
    • Vinton Newspapers
    • Waverly Newspapers
      • Atlantic News Telegraph
      • Audubon Advocate-Journal
      • Barr’s Post Card News
      • Burlington Hawk Eye
      • Collector’s Journal
      • Fayette County Union
      • Ft. Madison Daily Democrat
      • Independence Bulletin-Journal
      • Keokuk Daily Gate City
      • Oelwein Daily Register
      • Vinton Newspapers
      • Waverly Newspapers
    Michigan
    • Iosco County News-Herald
    • Ludington Daily News
    • Oceana’s Herald-Journal
    • Oscoda Press
    • White Lake Beacon
      • Iosco County News-Herald
      • Ludington Daily News
      • Oceana’s Herald-Journal
      • Oscoda Press
      • White Lake Beacon
    New York
    • Finger Lakes Times
    • Olean Times Herald
    • Salamanca Press
      • Finger Lakes Times
      • Olean Times Herald
      • Salamanca Press
    Pennsylvania
    • Bradford Era
    • Clearfield Progress
    • Courier Express
    • Free Press Courier
    • Jeffersonian Democrat
    • Leader Vindicator
    • Potter Leader-Enterprise
    • The Wellsboro Gazette
      • Bradford Era
      • Clearfield Progress
      • Courier Express
      • Free Press Courier
      • Jeffersonian Democrat
      • Leader Vindicator
      • Potter Leader-Enterprise
      • The Wellsboro Gazette
    © Copyright 2025 The Bradford Era 43 Main St, Bradford, PA  | Terms of Use  | Privacy Policy
    Powered by TECNAVIA