OAKFIELD, N.Y. — News10NBC is following up on an investigation into major solar projects in Genesee County and their impact on agriculture.
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Right now, Genesee County has the largest percentage of land in New York dedicated to agriculture — 177,000 acres of farmland. But it is now also leading the state in terms of most acreage devoted to solar projects. Critics fear the loss of land to solar farms will damage the local economy.
Christian Yunker is a third-generation farmer who operates CY Farms in Genesee County. With 7,500 acres, he grows food crops, feed and even turf grass. He’s had years where it was a struggle.
“There’s good years and there’s tougher years. We go through different commodity markets, energy markets, labor markets,” Yunker said.
To help weather the tougher years, he agreed a few years ago to lease about 200 acres of his land to solar developers.
“Farming is hard and it’s a stable stream of income,” Yunker said.
Yunker isn’t alone. Thirty other farmers or landowners in Oakfield and Elba have collectively leased more than 4,600 acres for the Cider Solar Project. Construction is now under way.
All large-scale solar projects are approved by the state Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES), created to streamline the process.
“It really was out of recognition that utility scale projects that are major generation resources should go through a very detailed and extensive state level process and also have a lot of protections built into that process,” said Jessica Waldorf, the chief of staff and director of policy implementation for the State Department of Public Service.
But Genesee County Manager Matt Landers says developers, with the approval of the state, have gone too far here.
“This is beautiful farmland, and they came out here with big paychecks and they’ve basically laid siege on our little county here in Genesee County,” Landers said.
It’s hard to fault the farmers who can lease their land to energy companies for as much as $2,000 an acre.
“People think, oh farmland is being lost, but it’s actually supporting the farmers by helping them keep the bottom line going,” said Marguerite Wells, executive director at the Alliance for Clean Energy New York.
Wells says solar energy is critical to meeting the state’s rapidly growing power needs while reducing reliance on oil and gas.
“The challenge in New York is, where else could you possible put any solar panels,” Wells said.
According to a 2024 report by the state comptroller’s office, Genesee County dedicates 56% of its land to agriculture, the highest in New York. Landers says the state has invested millions of dollars in dairy processing companies in Genesee County. More solar means less acreage to support those agribusinesses.
Read the comptroller’s full report:
“You need to have cows and milk to be able to feed these companies and our local farmers want to take advantage of this opportunity, but they’re being priced out by not being able to acquire the land or use the land they need to be able to make a living and support these businesses,” Landers said.
But Wells says a lot of this comes down to private property rights.
“The folks who own the land and pay the taxes really need a way to keep paying the taxes. And if they want to put up houses, they can sell it off as housing lots. They could be growing hogs out there, or they could put solar panels in,” Wells said.
But even this farmer who is leasing land to solar developers believes it’s gone too far. Yunker says he now regrets his decision.
“We never would have imagined the scale that we saw here in the county and we really think it’s flipped the balance of the local economy here in terms of — there’s just too many acres that have been converted,” Yunker said.
There are some solar farms across the country that are now practicing what is called “agrivoltaics.” That is the dual-use of the land for farming on the solar properties. The panels tend to be elevated for lower growing crops or pollinators, and the rows are spaced wider to allow farm equipment to access.
At the Cider Solar Project, the approval came with the requirement that there be sheep grazing on 327 acres of the land.
ORES, which oversees the process, has issued 35 permits throughout the state. It has denied only one. But officials say the permit application that comes in from the developers on day one is never the permit that is ultimately approved.
There is legislation in the state Senate and Assembly that would give final control of these projects to the local municipalities. But those bills have not made it out of committee.
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