olivermason•7d agoProlific Poster

Can we talk about why community solar farms aren't getting more traction

I went to a town meeting last month over in Greenfield about a proposed community solar farm. The whole room was packed with people who said it would ruin the view and lower property values. But here's the thing, I did some digging on my own before that meeting. Three years ago a similar project went up in a town about 20 miles from here. I drove out there last week to see it for myself. The panels are set back behind some trees and you barely notice them from the road. Plus I talked to a homeowner who lives right next to it and she said her electric bill dropped by 40 bucks a month. I get that change is hard for folks but we already have ugly power lines and substations everywhere. Has anyone else seen a solar farm that actually turned out better than the neighbors expected?

3 comments

3 Comments

fiona_carr266d ago

Check the HOA covenants too, sometimes they quietly block these projects.

young.michael6d ago

Real talk though, what if those HOA covenants are actually decades old and nobody's even enforced them in years - is it worth stirring that pot if nobody's complained yet?

maxl936d ago

Wait, did you read that article someone posted in here a few weeks ago about that big solar farm in New York where the neighbors ended up planting wildflowers around the panels? I brought that up at the meeting when someone said it would look ugly, lol. @young.michael you actually make a good point about old HOA rules, but in this case the town was trying to set up a separate lot for it, not on someone's lawn. The thing is, half the people complaining hadn't even seen a real solar farm before, they just assumed the worst. I got called a "city kid" for saying we could hide them with trees, but then I showed them the photos I took from that project 20 miles away and a few people actually quieted down.