Solar farms on good farmland questioned
by Blake Wolfe/The Scugog Standard

This week, township staff weighed in on the matter of solar farms in rural areas of Scugog, with one department head describing the use of prime agricultural property for such a use as “wrong-headed.” There are two solar farm proposals on the table in Scugog.
mA staff report on the matter of the province’s Green Energy Act - and the related feed-in tariff programs (FIT and Microfit) for those with solar panels or wind turbines producing power back into the grid - concluded that while alternative energy generation is a positive goal, a number of unintended consequences for municipalities have arisen from the legislation, which effectively excludes the township from having a say in the placement and construction of such projects.
mAccording to Community Services Director Don Gordon, two such solar farm proposals, one by Solray for a Cragg Rd. property and another by Skypower for a parcel of land off of Shirley Rd., are currently active in the township.
mThe council agenda also included a piece of correspondence from Keith Bacon, a neighbour of the proposed Greenbank solar farm and perhaps its most vocal opponent, outlining the various areas of concern. A public meeting on the Cragg Rd. proposal took place last night (Dec. 14) in Greenbank. One meeting has already been held regarding the Shirley Rd. proposal, and another will take place following a redesign of the plan by the proponent. The new plan, according to Mr. Gordon, will see mostly Class 6 farmland used, instead of a mix of Class 6 and Class 1 as originally proposed for the facility.
mMr. Gordon said that solar farm concerns in Scugog centre around the construction of large-scale facilities on viable agricultural properties, such as the Cragg Rd. property, which has been assessed as Class 1 soil. Despite provisions in the Green Energy Act for projects being prohibited from placement on that highest grade of farmland, the proponents of the Cragg Rd. solar proposal have nonetheless received a permit to produce electricity from the Ontario Power Authority. (A staff report states that there are still several other steps in the approval process yet to take place before shovels hit the ground.)
m“The issue from a staff point of view is that good farmland is being used for this,” he said. “The cornerstone of our new Official Plan is the protection of good farmland in the Class 1, 2 or 3 categories…. It seems the rationale behind putting these applications forward is that the township’s zoning bylaw doesn’t apply.”
mThe other solar power issue, according to Mr. Gordon, involves the creation of buildings on farm properties for roof-mounted solar panels.
mWith the township’s zoning bylaw, the only restriction on non-residential buildings on farm properties is that they be restricted to five per cent coverage, Mr. Gordon said that in theory, there is little in place to stop a 100-acre farm from having five acres of solar-panel covered buildings, provided they are used for farm storage. Currently, there are only three farms in the township with buildings for this purpose