New York has robust policies to protect farmland and ensure proper disposal of solar panels, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s top energy and environmental officials told the Trump administration.
Hochul’s administration responded Friday to a letter from Trump officials last month that raised concerns about the siting of large-scale solar on farms. The state’s response, obtained by POLITICO, rejects concerns about taking prime farmland out of use for solar and highlights how farmers may utilize revenue from solar leasing to support their operations.
“Despite misinformation and disinformation circulating across various digital channels, renewable energy development is not taking over New York’s ‘best farmland,’” the letter states. “Those familiar with the concerns facing upstate New York’s beautiful farmland know that renewable energy projects empower our farmers to keep their land in use and in their family, while avoiding the threat of permanent conversion or abandonment.”
Why it matters: The back-and-forth on solar upstate, where few large-scale projects are operating but many more are starting construction this summer, is another potentially divisive energy issue between New York and President Donald Trump’s administration.
