In Indiana, farmers are taking 13,000 acres of land out of production and putting it toward the generation of solar power
Producers in Indiana are leasing 13,000 acres of farmland to a solar power project that, once constructed, will be the biggest of its kind in the country, reports The Indianapolis Star. The initiative—a partnership between the state of Indiana and renewable energy company Doral—will blanket 20 percent of the leased land with solar panels, which will then generate power to both local homes and businesses and ones beyond state lines. Not only will the project reportedly conserve 2,000 tons of carbon emissions from coal every year, it will also reduce the local agriculture industry’s water, fertilizer, and pesticide footprints. Not everyone is happy with the idea of taking farming out of farmland: A lot of the corn harvested in the region right now goes toward ethanol production. —Jessica Fu
