By Melissa Wagoner
In the early part of 2018 a 12-acre solar farm began sending enough energy into the Portland General Electric grid to power 350 homes. This farm, on the west end of Pine Street in Silverton, is a movement toward more sustainable energy for local residents – a change that Elyce Brown, founder of the group Sustainable Silverton, applauds.
“Sustainable Silverton supports solar energy projects. Solar provides clean energy, energy independence, and quality local jobs,” she said. “Of course, any technology can have downsides if it is not appropriate; for example, certain tracts of land may be more or less ideal.”
The land in question, leased by Cypress Creek Renewables, a firm that develops and owns solar projects across the country, is indeed classified as high value farmland, which is why it is maxed out at the current 12 acres of panels. However, the land was previously utilized for one cutting of hay per year and Cypress Creek worked with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife prior to installation in order to ascertain wildlife habitat impact – which was minimal.
“It’s already agricultural land,” ODFW Energy Coordinator Sarah Reif said. “Cypress Creek came to us as part of their due diligence but it was all located on previously disturbed land.”
Although the impact of solar panels on this particular piece of land was minimal, Reif explained that regulations limiting the size of solar farms on agricultural land and the obligatory habitat research are important, especially in Eastern Oregon where farms tend to be much larger.
“If you place these solar panels on farms you are choosing power over food,” she said. “If you place them on native habitat you’re choosing power over native plants and animals.”
Reif, a resident of Silverton, isn’t against solar power – just the opposite. Instead, she believes that care must be taken in order to maximize benefits and minimize negative effects.
“Relatively speaking this is where we need to go,” she said. “What I’m always advocating for is – let’s take a look at the whole state and where conflicts are most minimized.”
Amy Berg Pickett, Northwest Regional Zoning and Outreach Manager for Cypress Creek, said that solar power is not only low impact on the land on which it is placed but also as a contribution to the waste stream.
“The farms do not create any emissions or wastes,” she said. “The revegetation of the temporary disturbance is currently occurring and is comprised of native and regional grass mixes. The site will remain previous and fallow for the life of the project. After decommissioning the land can be returned to agricultural use.”
The panels themselves, with a lifespan of more than 25 years, can be recycled, making them a relatively low environmental cost. They are also installable, not just by large solar farms like the ones Cypress Creek manages, but by private homeowners, a choice that Brown hopes more people will make.
“We are excited at all the possibilities that the clean energy revolution can provide us here in Silverton, and we feel incredibly lucky that the solutions to climate polluting dirty energy sources are win-win,” she said. “For example, by retrofitting our existing building stock for greater efficiency and locally-produced energy, we will see economic growth that is independent of population growth or loss of greenfield land area. By producing more of our own energy locally, we will be creating quality jobs, increasing the spending power of our residents, and building community resilience.”
