Agricultural landowners expressed skepticism at potential renewable resource development near their lands, while a smaller number of those who already have such installations on their land had a more optimistic message, according to the Alberta government’s survey from last summer. Read More
A majority of replies from rural landowners cited the likelihood of a major impact on farming operations by renewables, while those who already have solar on their property cited its benefits
A majority of replies from rural landowners cited the likelihood of a major impact on farming operations by renewables, while those who already have solar on their property cited its benefits
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Agricultural landowners expressed skepticism at potential renewable resource development near their lands, while a smaller number of those who already have such installations on their land had a more optimistic message, according to the Alberta government’s survey from last summer.
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The survey regarding renewable energy projects on agricultural land drew just under 1,000 responses when it ran between July 22 and Aug. 15 of last year.
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Five months earlier, the province brought in a series of new restrictions on future pursuits of renewables, citing a need to support agricultural lands, that followed a moratorium on such developments that had been introduced the summer before.
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A 539-page report of the survey’s results was released to Postmedia last week following the involvement of the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner more than 10 months after the government withheld the results of a pair of access to information requests seeking the same information.
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The survey begins by asking respondents to identify if they were an agricultural landowner, municipal representative, irrigation district representative, renewable energy company, or none of those options.
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Questions were both multiple choice and essay-style, but varied in substance and number based on which role the respondent identified.
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More than 61 per cent of those who replied identified themselves as agricultural landowners, but each group’s responses presented a different message to the government.
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Landowners
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Landowners largely shared anxiety at the prospect of utility-scale renewable development on their land.
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A majority of the 560 replies stated solar (71 per cent) and wind (56 per cent) could have a “major” impact on their ability to produce crops or livestock on the same parcel of land.
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Landowners were split on if they would be willing to continue farming their land should a developer be interested in installing a renewable operation on the same parcel of property.
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Relative to a solar operation, 45 per cent of respondents were not at all willing to continue, with the same proportion being either very or somewhat willing to continue.
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Landowners were more supportive of a wind operation, with 47 per cent being either somewhat or very willing to continue, compared to 40 per cent who said they were unwilling.