MD Public Service Commission Law Judge rejects Apex
Public Utility Law Judge Sober has rejected the Mills Branch Solar proposal to construct a 360-acre industrial Solar installation in the middle of Kent County prime agricultural land and denied them the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) required for such a project. Involved parties have until February 10, 2017 to submit an appeal. The judge based his decision in large part on the arguments provided by the Kent County government and Kent Alliance that large scale projects like the Mills Branch Solar proposal need to comply with a reasonable application of land use policies at the local level.>>> read more
PROPOSED ORDER OF PUBLIC UTILITY LAW JUDGE (the full ruling by Judge Sober)
Solar Siting and Sustainable Land Use
“With the rapid growth of New Jersey’s highly incentivized solar industry, a new type of development pressure has emerged. There is a growing momentum to build large, utility-sale solar electric generation facilities on farmland, open space, forests and environmentally sensitive areas.” >>Read More
Energy Sprawl
An article by Bill Schlesinger, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, in the Citizen Scientist Blog discussing the land use requirements from energy sources including fossil, nuclear and renewable. Particular emphasis is put on the energy yield per unit of land. >>Read More
A New Crop for Agricultural Land: The Renewable Energy Mandate and Its Potential to Turn Farm Lands into Energy Fields.
“Converting agricultural land to solar easements is unnecessary to meet the goals of Renewable Energy Mandate because other viable locations, such as rooftops, are readily available.” Amy Odens
>>Read More