Oregon counties are choosing a solar farm siting path

Morrow County contends with the effects of new administrative rules despite high-value farmland designation

HEPPNER — By the end of the year, counties in Oregon have to decide whether to opt out of a new statute affecting solar farm siting rules.

Solar siting projects larger than 320 acres on non-arable land fall under the jurisdiction of the Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council, a state-appointed volunteer committee overseeing larger energy-related developments, including pipelines, transmission lines and energy facilities.

But under the new rule, Section 44 of Oregon Administrative Rules Chapter 660, Division 33, the 320-acre threshold for projects that counties permit will increase to 1,920 acres, meaning counties will get more say in approving or denying projects.

Eventually, the idea is counties will follow Section 44 while also pursuing Statewide Planning Goal 5 to protect wildlife habitat and historic places.

For Eastern Oregon counties, the Section 44 decision could have implications for smaller projects, Morrow County planner Tamra Mabbott said, but in her county, many solar projects easily surpass the larger threshold.

Solar panels face the sun in Morrow County Aug. 22, 2025. The county has several large solar farm projects, some larger than 10,000 acres. (Stephen Wrecsics/Morrow County)

“All of these grand efforts at the state and the Rules Advisory Committee, they’re for projects that are under 2,000 acres, and the projects we’re seeing in Morrow County are much bigger than that,” she said, noting some projects underway are 10,000 acres or more.

Gov. Tina Kotek said she thinks the change balances renewable energy with public processes.

“Combatting our climate crisis takes a whole-of-government approach,” she said. “Protecting the lands that feed us, provide us with clean air and drinking water is integral to achieving our shared goals. And, we cannot lose sight of the potential and the economic benefits of producing Oregon-based, clean energy solutions for our region.”

Regardless of project sizes, county commissioners across the state must choose whether to opt out of the new rule by the end of the year. On Wednesday, Aug. 20, the Morrow County commissioners directed Mabbott to pursue adoption of the Section 44 rule while retaining the existing rules to allow options for landowners.

Mabbott presented the options to the commissioners during a public work session Aug. 6 in Heppner.

“My overall sense is that the board is very supportive of the industry, they’re very supportive of the landowners being able to have that choice whether or not to farm or to lease land for solar,” she said after the work session. “But they’re also mindful that it does have an impact, and when you’re looking at 20% to 30% of your wheat that’s converted to solar, it does have an economic impact.”

The grape issue

Even for the solar farm siting projects that would fall under the 1,920-acre threshold for the county to decide, Mabbott said much of the county’s land is categorized federally as an American Viticultural Area, which automatically puts it into the high-value farmland category, even though very few farmers attempt to grow grapes in the county.

Morrow County averaged 14.04 inches of rainfall from 1994 through 2024, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. Grapes can grow without irrigation, but water is especially important in the establishment years, according to Oregon State University. While there are irrigated farms in the area, most of the land proposed and permitted for solar is nonirrigated, according to Mabbott.

The AVA categorization of the soil was a large takeaway from the meeting Mabbott led with the county commissioners, she said.

“There’s really no science behind the AVA designation,” Mabbott said. It’s really just a broad-brush designation that says, ‘We think grapes can grow here based on general soil information.’”

She added the commissioners seemed interested in trying to change the classification of the soils to non-arable. The change would make it easier for Morrow County growers to lease their land for solar if they choose to.

Mitigating the costs

The final major change with the new Section 44 rule involves an agricultural mitigation program for renewable energy companies. The idea was pioneered by PineGate Renewables, a solar company putting panels on 10,000 acres in Morrow County.

The mitigation program essentially puts a monetary value on how much money the region’s economy is losing by taking a certain amount of a crop out of rotation to install solar panels.

PineGate hired an economic firm and did a cost-benefit analysis, Mabbott said. That report quantified the benefit to farmers who earn revenue from the panels balanced with the value lost over the life of the project and what effect it would have to the wheat industry and local stakeholders to lose that many acres. Then, PineGate gave the county money to reinvest in the local economy to offset any long-term negative effects of the project.

Section 44 codified a statewide agricultural mitigation program based on the PineGate example in Morrow County.

In the coming months, counties can decide, as Morrow County did, whether or not to opt out of the Section 44 rule for solar farm siting developments. Opting out keeps the current rules while not providing the path to a Goal 5 exception to protect wildlife habitat and historic places process nor the higher Section 44 thresholds. Not acting means the new rules will apply alongside the former ones.