HomeMy WebLinkAbout05.10.2024 Board Correspondence - FW_ Solar panel debacle.ATTENTION: This message originated from outside Butte County. Please exercise judgment before opening
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From:Clerk of the Board
To:Bennett, Robin; Clerk of the Board; Connelly, Bill; Cook, Holly; Cook, Robin; Durfee, Peter; Jessee, Meegan;
Kimmelshue, Tod; Kitts, Melissa; Lee, Lewis; Pickett, Andy; Ritter, Tami; Stephens, Brad J.; Sweeney, Kathleen;
Teeter, Doug; Zepeda, Elizabeth; Mendoza, Louie
Cc:Nevers, Dawn
Subject:Board Correspondence - FW: Solar panel debacle
Date:Friday, May 10, 2024 9:23:44 AM
Please see Board correspondence -
From: Linda Leete <lleete1234@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, May 10, 2024 8:45 AM
To: ButteAg <ButteAg@buttecounty.net>; Colleen@buttecountyfarmbureau
Cc: Clerk of the Board <clerkoftheboard@buttecounty.net>
Subject: Solar panel debacle
To Whom This May Concern:
Please immediately deny all use permits for solar panel leases that cover fields zoned for Agricultural use in Butte
County. These permits would potentially remove prime agricultural ground from production for up to 30 years and
possibly more.
I know that Butte County nut farmers are struggling right now with the high grower costs and low sales prices. I
am one of them. But many outside investors swooped into Butte County during the high profit years and are now
looking for any convenient way to make easy profits on their lands. Solar farms are not farms. In fact, they are the
opposite of sustainable farming. Allowing investors to lease their lands for solar installations comes at a too high
price.
Besides taking prime ground out of food production, these solar farms will cause other disruptions to farming. I
foresee lawsuits over dust and sprays interfering with solar efficiencies. I foresee rodent and weed problems
popping up under these facilities and spreading into adjacent food producing fields. Potentially, these solar
structures located in flood plane could act as collectors of debris from heavy rains, altering existing drainage
patterns. Once the solar leases have expired, the steel and concrete will create a need for massive cleanup on the
affected properties. The cost may be too great to return the land back to agricultural uses.
I am not against solar panels, but they do not belong on prime agricultural soil. They belong on the roof tops of
existing buildings and parking structures. There are ample areas for solar panels to be placed in Butte County
without interfering with food production.
Please do not allow them on Butte County Agricultural lands. The damage would be too great.
Sincerely, Linda Leete