Louisiana Solar Hearing

In Louisiana, sun day will be on a Tuesday.

A second meeting has been announced in regards to legislation pertaining to the solar industry.  Act 301 of Louisiana Legislature establishes a regulatory framework for the solar power in the state. 

The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources will hold a public hearing beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 29 in the John J. Hainkel, Jr. Room at the State Capitol in Baton Rouge.  Interested persons and groups are invited to give testimony in regards to the regulations. 

Later that day, the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources and the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry have scheduled a joint public hearing to be held Tuesday, June 29, 2021 at 2 p.m. at the LaSalle Office Building on 617 North 3rd Street in Baton Rouge.  The meeting will be held in the LaBelle Room on the first floor.

In recent months, many in the agricultural industry have expressed concerned about the rapid development of solar energy in Louisiana before the State has a state regulatory framework in place for the solar industry.  These same solar energy concerns echoed during the 2021 State Legislative Session.  

At issue is that Louisiana is a tenet farmer state, meaning that the majority of farmers rent, rather than own the land they farm on.  Conversion of farmland into solar farms could mean the loss of livelihood for those tenet farmers.

Senate Bill 185, which later became Act 301, by Senator Brett Allain, establishes a basic framework of regulation for the solar industry.  Senate Resolution 182 by Senator Beth Mizell passed the 2021 Louisiana State Regular Legislative Session, requesting the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and the Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Forestry to jointly conduct a public meeting to listen to concerns about solar energy.

While both meetings are about the solar industry, the first on at 8:30 a.m. will be focused on the regulations, while the latter at 2 p.m. will be to hear concerns specifically about the impact of land being devoted to solar energy production and its impact to agriculture.  Louisiana Farm Bureau is urging a good showing from the agriculture community at both meetings to present their concerns at the hearing, so that lawmakers can see the faces of those this regulatory effort will affect.   

Farmers, landowners, and those involved in the agricultural industry are invited to attend to discuss concerns such as the agricultural production losses, loss of sales for agricultural businesses and lending, funding to restore land after solar sites are decommissioned, impact to agricultural infrastructure, plus other relevant issues.