Opinion: Farmer supports Vermont Community Solar

by Lucille Evarts

The sun never stops shining, so you might as well take advantage of it. We’ve waited years and years to harness the sun’s energy with solar power and now that it is available and affordable, we’ve joined in. It’s crazy to keep using fossil fuels when the sun, an inexhaustible resource, is shining.

We will be proudly hosting a Community Solar Array on our farm. The array only takes up an acre of our roughly 250 acre farm that we could use for hay. But, that solar acre is of greater economic benefit to us than an acre of hay. On a larger scale, this array will help our fellow community members access a solar solution for the very first time.

Community Solar Arrays are putting our landscape to work to support a clean energy future. Many of these arrays sit on unused weed lots or underutilized fields nested among manmade infrastructures we’ve embraced for years. These arrays sit quietly, just soaking up the sun and making power.

A big piece of the solar conversation is education. I think SunCommon is doing just that by holding community meetings and workshops to encourage all to get involved and informed. Some of the negativity I hear comes from people needing to know a bit more information. And some comes from the reaction to the inevitable change in our landscape. We’re used to roadways, power lines and silos in our working landscape, and we’ll eventually get used to this new addition: solar.

I’m mindful of the conversation, but in the end this is my land. This is a way I can support our family farm and our future here in Vermont while contributing to the greater good of the community.

Take a look at your electric light bill and imagine putting your money toward a sustainable future that saves you money. If it makes sense, then why not do it?