"Lost City Renewables LLC" is proposing to place a 1,300 solar "farm" in Dunmor and Penrod in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. The proposal includes installing everything from solar photovoltaic panels, racking systems, electric equipment, project substations, and more. Green energy options may be viable in some places, but large forested areas aren't the best solutions. There are plenty of places in Muhlenberg County where solar "farms" may have an acceptable place, including areas around TVA or areas that were strip-mined decades ago (so the land is no longer viable, anyway).

While solar panels do have their place--from the roofs of buildings or along busy highways--destroying America's farmland and heartland is NOT the answer. Solar panels that make thousands of acres of farmland unusable isn't the key to Muhlenberg County's future: it is the bulldozer that destroys it. The negatives of a large solar "farm" of this size outweigh the positives: this project offers limited benefits to Muhlenberg Countians. We currently do not know the long-term effects on land surrounding solar projects or how living near a solar farm may impact residents' long-term health. Guidance varies greatly on the safe distance of residences from solar farms, which lets us know there is more research that needs to be done. Property values of land surrounding solar farms also decreases drastically, which is not sustainable or acceptable for our long-term county residents. Clearing the land will only aid deforestation. Land, especially farm land, is growing increasingly scarce, and if this project goes through, this means hundreds of acres will be lost, becoming uninhabitable and unfarmable. Solar farms greatly affect the ecotourism and historical tourism of a region as well.

NOW is the time to act, before it's too late! Even if you aren't a Dunmor/Penrod resident, large solar "farms" can, and likely will, have a major impact on your own area. As a representative from Citizens for Responsible Solar noted, "Once these projects find an entry point in a county, they will continue to aggressively seek out landowners who are willing to lease their land and they’re just going to keep on coming." Will Y-O-U help make a difference by promoting responsible solar that's not on agricultural land?