Letters: Let locals decide how renewables can be part of energy mix

Louisiana economic development is transforming our state, and our communities are continuing to grow into this new era. Key to this growth is energy, and we need all the energy — and the cheapest and the fastest — we can get it. In this, I wear two hats.

I’m a landowner and a retired farmer who has grown sugar cane for decades. I am also under contract for a solar project. In addition, I serve on the Avoyelles Parish Police Jury, where we have just completed a strong local solar ordinance.

Let me be clear: I am not opposed to reasonable oversight.

But there is a difference between oversight and overreach.

Our parish recently adopted an ordinance that includes reasonable setbacks for renewables. We believe that is balanced. What we cannot support are state proposals that effectively make projects unworkable. At some point, regulation becomes prohibition.

When you tell a landowner that a state agency gets to decide the “best use” of his land, that raises serious concerns. Farmers and property owners have always adapted to changing markets. Through history, one crop has given way to another. We moved from cattle to soybeans, from rice to sugar cane. Today, some landowners see solar as another way of harvesting the sun.

Whether we are growing cotton, rice, sugar cane or installing solar panels, we are harvesting the sun. That’s what agriculture has always been.

In Avoyelles Parish, we believe local government is capable of setting reasonable standards. We have done the work. We have written an ordinance that reflects our community’s priorities.

This issue deserves a better path forward — one that respects private property rights, recognizes local authority and avoids policies that unintentionally drive investment out of Louisiana.

SAM PEARCE

landowner and police juror, Avoyelles Parish