Unlike Maine, Western Colorado has over 300 days of sunshine per year. That’s why, according to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, “solar farms have started cropping up in northwestern Colorado, turning sagebrush into a bright sea of photovoltaic energy panels surrounded by 8-foot fences—a total loss for elk, deer, and sage-grouse. And the Rocky Mountain West- pronghorns in the most productive winter range of
V. Paul Reynolds, Outdoors Columnist
In short, renewable energy, be it wind turbines or solar farms, is not without a significant downside. Wildlife managers in Colorado see all of these renewable energy initiatives as an immediate threat to wildlife due to the corresponding loss of wildlife habitat.
Maine is on a similar path. So far, our state has 3,185 solar panel farms and more are on the way. According to a recent report by Maine Public Radio, Penobscot County alone has many “requests” for new solar installations.
DEP approval is required for planned solar installations larger than three acres. Applicants must commit to a financing plan for decommissioning spent solar panels. The question hanging over these solar farms like a dark cloud is: “What will we do with these photovoltaic albatross when the panels are 20-25 years down the road?”
The new law, proposed by the Maine Sportsmen’s Alliance, is still being finalized, but would require new solar developers to either provide a “compensation area” equal to the size of the developed solar field or transfer money to a state compensation fund. for habitat protection.
Should taxpayers cover the cost of private landfills powered by solar panels, or will spent solar farms simply be left to rust on the side of the road like so many junk cars?
Concerned about this question, the municipalities of Ellsworth and Dixmont have at least temporarily banned these solar farms. Undoubtedly, as landscapes become more and more populated with solar panels and cyclone fences, more Maine cities will declare a solar farm hiatus until more satisfactory answers to the disposal question are received.
Aside from the visual pollution and decommissioning issues of spent solar panels, there’s another ancillary solar farm problem that doesn’t get much attention at the municipal or state level, except for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation: wildlife habitat loss and degradation.
I’ve heard many Mainers grumble under their breath about the futility of either wind turbines or those solar farms along the highways and roads of our once-scenic state, while acknowledging the need for clean renewable energy.
It seems to me that these solar installations are not only multiplying, but also expanding. Once an 8-foot cyclone fence is erected on three acres or 30 acres, it is no longer accessible to wildlife for nesting or foraging.
The rush to solar farms and renewable energy creates a paradox as we destroy habitat and wildlife in our earnest efforts to manage our carbon footprint. This debate is not over.
W. Paul Reynolds, editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal, author, Maine guide and host of the weekly radio program, “Maine Outdoors,” is heard on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network, Sundays at 7 p.m. Contact him at [email protected].
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