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Vermont committee hears workers, farmers urge limits on large solar projects to protect farmland
Summary
Farmers and conservation advocates backed draft language for Section 10 that would limit utility-scale solar and require lifecycle energy/carbon audits on projects sited on prime agricultural soils and some forests; renewable-energy representatives urged careful drafting to avoid shutting down distributed solar and asked to consult utilities and the Department of Public Service.
The Senate Agriculture Committee on Tuesday heard an hour of testimony on Section 10 of a miscellaneous bill that would restrict energy development on Vermont’s best agricultural soils and some forested lands and require lifecycle analysis for large projects. Chair opened the session by saying the committee wanted "to spend some time going through, section 10 of our miscellaneous bill," and that Representative Greg Burt had proposed language to start the conversation.
Representative Greg Burt (House Agriculture Committee), who introduced the language to be added to the bill, said the measure is intended to ensure a “balanced approach” to utility-scale solar development. Burt cited the Shaftesbury project as an example and complained that the current regulatory process lacks independent checks on lifecycle impacts: "There's no energy audit. There's no carbon audit," he said, asking whether a 25-year use of productive land produces the net carbon or community benefit intended.
Witnesses from farming and conservation organizations urged strict limits on siting large…
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