The Missouri Senate is considering bills to stop the construction of solar power projects on farmland in the state.
Thousands of acres across the state are being used to construct large-scale solar projects, some for commercial sale of power and others that will be dedicated to supply other new developments like data centers but at least two Senators want to block the projects.
During a recent Senate commerce committee hearing, testimony was heard from some of those opposed to the acquisition of farmland for the solar projects.
Laura Stinson told the committee her parents’ Callaway County home, once a peaceful respite, is now plagued with construction noise, dust, and blinding glare from a new development surrounding their 16 acres.
“They are running full steam ahead, and they don’t care who they run over,” Stinson said, pleading with members to pass the bills, reported Canary Media.
The report indicated one landowner opposed any moratorium saying it ““strips landowners of our fundamental right to choose our most profitable crop. And right now, solar energy generates twice the revenue of any other crop we can produce.”
The moratorium bills are sponsored by State Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin, a Shelbina Republican, and state Sen. Sandy Crawford, a Republican from Buffalo. The bills would halt all work on commercial-scale solar power installations and direct the state Department of Natural Resources to issue rules on their “construction, placement and operation.”
Click here for Canary Media