WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Mike Bost (IL-12) today introduced legislation to keep prime and unique farmland in production for farming by restricting access to federal tax credits for companies converting these properties into solar panels tracts. The PANELS Act would not prevent a farmer from leasing their property for solar panels, but it would reduce the economic incentive for companies to do so.
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"Prime farmland should be used for farming, not for corporate solar developers to gobble up acre after acre," saidBost. "We’re losing precious and productive farmland to companies installing solar panels, which threatens America’s agricultural supply chain, food security, and rural economies. That’s why I’ve reintroduced the PANELS Act- to stop federal tax credits from being used to convert prime and unique farmland into solar farms. Farmers should have the right to make decisions about their land, but we shouldn’t be incentivizing companies to take fertile prime farmland out of production."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines prime farmland as land having the best combination of physical and chemical characteristics to produce food, feed, and crops with the minimum amount of fuel, fertilizer, and pesticides. Unique farmland is used for a specific, high value crop, such as citrus, tree nuts, and certain fruits and vegetables.
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