Developers who are seeking to convert farmland into solar farms in southern Louisiana may want to think twice. The local residents are very reluctant to change of any kind and anything that may take away from prime fishing and hunting lands will be fought against tooth and nail.
One also has to wonder how viable solar energy projects will be in an area of the country where the sun maybe shines 50% of the time?
I also wonder what will happen when a hurricane comes through and damages one of these solar farms? How long would we be out of power then?
From The Advocate
A lifelong sugar cane farmer in his first stint at politics, St. James Parish President Pete Dufresne has been an ardent backer of new industrial projects as needed job producers and tax revenue generators for his rural, blue-collar parish between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.Along the Mississippi River, St. James' large tracts of agricultural land with roads, rail, pipeline and power have made the parish one of Louisiana's hot spots for industrial growth with the generally cheap natural gas prices of the past 10 to 15 years.
But Dufresne has taken a more cautious approach with the solar farms now seeking to set up on agricultural land, worried about eating up swaths of irreplaceable riverside land for solar complexes that produce few permanent jobs.
"That's the most valuable real estate we have. That's the most valuable real estate, accessible to rail and river, and it's just taking away so many opportunities that could be other clean projects, as well, you know, that could actually bring jobs, and that's what our concern is," Dufresne told a few solar, utility and media representatives after a recent Parish Council meeting.
"We need jobs. I mean these thousands of acres of solar farms is not bringing any jobs, and who's getting the benefit? Who's getting the real benefit of these solar panels," he added.
Dufresne's and other local officials' concerns reflect the unease that has arisen among some in rural Louisiana over the proliferation of solar farms over thousands of acres agricultural land.
Tangipahoa, Washington, West Baton Rouge, Pointe Coupee, Calcasieu, Lafourche, Morehouse and many other parishes have been targeted for solar installations supplying utilities, eBay, McDonald's and other electricity buyers. While some have welcomed the farms, several other parishes have tried to slow things down at least until better controls are in place.
The aesthetics of acres of reflecting panels, their hum as they track the sun, long-term cleanup, displacement of the agricultural economy and low long-term job potential have all emerged as worries, despite the short-term boost in construction jobs and sales tax collections and the long-term property tax rise over land under agricultural tax exemptions.
Local governments have been left to balance those concerns against the rights of landowners seeking lucrative solar leasing arrangements and the demand from utilities and big users, including major industrial operations, for more renewable power.
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