Farms & Renewables

Guest Opinion

By Lauren Teichner | Nov. 8, 2025

Drive any back road in northern Michigan and you’ll pass rolling fields, barns, and pastures. Lately, you might also notice tall wind turbines or solar panels stretching across farmland. My husband, for one, finds them hard to look at—he misses the uninterrupted horizon and simple beauty of open fields. And he’s not alone. Some welcome these sights as signs of progress, while others worry they’re changing the character of Michigan’s rural landscape.

It’s an understandable concern. Agriculture is deeply tied to a sense of place and identity here. The thought of farmland giving way to energy infrastructure can feel like a loss, especially when that land has been in families for generations. Yet, across Michigan, more farmers are weighing those feelings against tough economics and deciding that renewable energy might not be a threat to agriculture, but a lifeline for it.

Farmers are shouldering an enormous burden right now. Commodity prices are unstable. Input costs for seed, fuel, and equipment remain high. Labor shortages strain operations. Climate change brings erratic weather. And farmers’ margins are razor thin. At the Michigan Climate Action Summit this fall, one farmer described it plainly: After years of losses, he and his brother decided to lease part of their land for solar to diversify income and keep the farm in their family.

For many farmers, a renewable-energy lease is the difference between holding onto land or selling it for development. Hosting solar or wind infrastructure provides reliable income that isn’t tied to global commodity prices. These projects also generate local tax revenue that supports schools, fire departments, and road maintenance, while buffering rural communities against sprawl. No wonder nonpartisan groups like Farm to Power—a coalition of farmers, ranchers, and rural leaders—are forming to advocate for such projects. Renewable energy keeps the land open, green, and productive.

One of the most promising paths forward is “agrivoltaics,” which is the co-location of agriculture and renewables. According to one MSU Extension bioenergy educator, agrivoltaics is the state’s “best kept secret.” He argues that no solar project should harvest sunlight alone; every installation can and should support agricultural or ecological productivity.

The most practical approaches are sheep grazing and native plantings. Sheep manage vegetation under panels, saving developers mowing costs while giving farmers new revenue and maintaining agricultural use. You can spot one of these projects on M-72 outside of Traverse City. Native-plant habitats support pollinators, regenerate soil, and leave the land healthier than before. Studies by Argonne National Laboratory found that pollinator-friendly solar farms can boost native bee numbers twentyfold, increasing yields on nearby crops. Research in Germany shows that solar parks provide habitats for endangered birds.

Renewables-farm partnerships create a rare win for everyone. For farmers, they offer stable income, preserve ownership, and keep operations viable for the next generation. For rural communities, they bring tax revenue, jobs during construction, and reliable power without pollution. And for the land itself, they can mean improved soil, stronger pollinator populations, and cleaner air and water. The clean energy transition doesn’t have to hollow out rural Michigan; it can reinvest in it.

From a legal standpoint, much depends on how renewable energy leases are written. Beyond per-acre payments and energy royalties, farmers can negotiate terms that keep agriculture at the heart of projects.

A lease can include a “right of first refusal,” allowing the farmer to manage sheep grazing or native-species plantings. It can specify soil protections, site access, and decommissioning standards so the land returns to agricultural use when a project ends. These straightforward clauses make the difference between a project that displaces agriculture and one that strengthens it. The key is early, transparent planning with developers.

Under Michigan’s 2023 energy legislation, regulated electric utilities must meet a renewable energy standard of 60 percent by 2035, and a clean energy standard of 100 percent by 2040. Meeting these targets will require thousands of new sites across the state.

Nationally, more than 80 percent of new solar projects by 2040 will be installed on farms and ranchland. As federal clean-energy policy wavers, leadership is shifting back locally to counties, townships, and landowners. Now is the time to think creatively about how clean energy can proactively sustain our rural economies.

Beyond farms, clean energy brings the resilience and affordability Michigan badly needs. Local solar and wind projects help stabilize and modernize the grid. Built closer to where power is used, they reduce transmission losses, improve reliability, lower costs, and make the grid less dependent on distant fossil-fuel plants vulnerable to outages or fuel shortages.

This moment holds real promise for reimagining how Michigan supports its farmers and generates power. With thoughtful legal agreements and cooperative local planning, renewables can revitalize farmland and strengthen rural communities.

So when you see solar panels or wind turbines rising on a farm, don’t see loss. See a new way to sustain the land, the people who care for it, and a more resilient, affordable future for us all.

Lauren Teichner is the founder and principal attorney at Teichner Law, a public interest environmental law firm based in Traverse City.