In recent history, Delaware has not reached the level of states like Massachusetts or New Jersey in per capita solar installations, number of employment opportunities in the solar industry or in equitable access to solar energy. However, much of this is expected to change with recent policies passed by the state, with more progress expected on both the county and state levels in the years to come.
Not every project and policy is being met with open arms by counties or community members. One project seeking to create a utility-sized installation in Kent County has already drawn the ire of some and raised alarms on Levy Court.
Recent state policies have focused on encouraging growth with a far-friendlier option to land and farmers, called “community solar.” This would allow families who are unable to install solar on their homes to purchase solar energy from a community-sized installation elsewhere in the state. With community solar, landowners and farmers can actually lease a small part of their property, usually between 24-30 acres, while still maintaining complete control over the remainder of their land and receiving consistent revenue from the lease. Then, at the end of the lease period, they can reclaim the land or renew the lease and continue receiving that revenue to invest in their business or family.
The utility-sized project being debated in Kent County is very different from what is being encouraged in recent state legislation. This proposal seeks to take over 260 acres of a 530-acre property and convert it to a massive utility-scale solar project, a relatively rare occurrence in Delaware.
During recent Levy Court meetings regarding the project, concerned residents expressed fears over what they view as a sustained attack on their family-based agricultural industry and lifestyle. With the constant threat of farmland being lost, many are concerned with an ever-increasing amount of solar development.
Unlike housing and commercial development, it does not inherently have to be a permanent either-or arrangement between solar and agriculture. Through safeguards set forth in land-use policy to ensure funding for decommissioning of the solar installation, it is entirely possible to restore the land back to agriculture in the future. New Castle County already requires this, and Kent County may be following suit. Installing solar on small portions of existing farmland can shift our reliance away from fossil fuels, while helping small farmers generate a fixed revenue stream to balance the variable revenue from farming operations, while the decommissioning protections preserve our precious agricultural lands for future use. In contrast, housing and commercial development create permanent fixtures.
Residents also raised concerns over safety of solar installations, such as the fear that the panels will leach lead into the environment or that they will emit harmful radiation. These concerns are not new and have not been substantiated by reputable and robust studies of current solar technology. Some of the claims related to leaching toxins into the environment are misguided and do not reflect the current solar technology that is being used in Delaware. One source of this confusion may be related to concerns in developing countries, where they are using old lead-based batteries and not handling or recycling those batteries properly, and have nothing to do with the actual solar panels.
In terms of radiation, solar panels and inverters, like all electronic devices, do emit some level of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) but not enough to be dangerous, even if you were living right underneath them every day, as you would with rooftop solar. We live in an increasingly electronic world, but every device, solar included, has regulated limits of how much EMR can be emitted to prevent harm to the human body and the environment.
In sum, not only is solar a safe, clean and effective way to generate electricity, but it can also provide increasing opportunities for jobs, security in energy and finances, and a more sustainable future for our environment. With the addition of community solar to our state energy portfolio, these benefits can reach even more communities and offer a helping hand to our much-loved family farms.
Dustyn Thompson is a volunteer and community outreach coordinator for the Sierra Club’s Delaware chapter. He resides in Wilmington.
