Please oppose this Bill. I don’t want our beautiful woodlands & farms destroyed by solar panels. Put them on top of buildings & shopping malls that have closed!

This bill harms a rural community that is deeply vulnerable and rooted in agriculture as well as the protection of nature. Many young and growing families will be greatly impacted in a devastating way and we are extremely opposed to this bill. Thank you.

Please support HB402. It will allow small cottage foods producers to grow reach a larger consumer base, without the need to upgrade to a commercial kitchen, which is exceedingly expensive and lots of red tape for permitting. This is also a way to make it less restrictive for anyone wanting to get started with home produced uninspected foods which will support independence and community food resilience and keep revenue cycling within the local economy.

Solar IS NOT Ag. Please do NOT approve of this! Makes no sense. The studies have already shown how detrimental these projects are to the environment and community. Please STOP.

I am writing in opposition of HB1091, Right to Farm; SOLAR PANELS. Solar panels and solar energy facilities do not constitute legitimate agricultural operations under the Virginia Right to Farm Act and it needs to remain that way under the act. Solar panels do not produce agricultural goods,they do not rely on agricultural processes, and do not face the types of nuisance pressures the Act was designed to address. Extending RTFA protections to solar facilities would exceed legislative intent, erode zoning authority, and undermine the Act’s core purpose of protecting bona fide farming. The Virginia Right to Farm Act was enacted to protect legitimate agricultural operations from nuisance claims and local restrictions arising from suburban encroachment. Solar itself is an encroachment on RURAL VIRGINIA that citizens like myself adamantly oppose. Solar energy facilities—do not meet the statutory purpose or functional characteristics of agriculture under Virginia law and therefore should not receive Right to Farm protections. Lastly, rural localities want to protect our farmland and forestry from the nuisance and overall damage solar farms create. A policy that opens up any protections for industrial solar as agriculture should be OPPOSED.

I strongly support this bill, which is absolutely necessary. Solar panels fit well on agricultural land and the decision should be left to the landowner, not the arbitrary whims of local governments. There is an incredible amount of misinformation on solar and irrational thinking, which some local governments have absorbed and used to create ludicrous ordinances. Just one example is 1,000 ft setback from residential parcel lines for solar, whereas a rocky quarry has only 100 ft setbacks. Asphalt batch plants and other loud, potentially air polluting industries also have much lower requirements. Farmers should be able to rent out land for solar as a way of smoothing out fluctuations from weather, tariffs, and all the other random things that affect agricultural commodity prices. Solar projects are temporary (although 20-30 years is certainly a long time) and almost all localities have strict decommissioning requirements that put the land back the way it was before the project (if the landowner so wishes.) Solar energy production is a way to preserve farmland that would otherwise be sold for permanent development. Please tune out the extremely vocal anti-solar minority who do not have their facts straight and approve HB1091.

Solar Farms are NOT Agriculture or Farming. Not even close! Quite the opposite! Many years of research on these solar yards, they are a hazard to the land and a hazard to the community and its people. Solar has no place in the agriculture communities or farmland

HB 1048 & HB 1049 The Menhaden Needs to be protected NOW from overfishing. This species has already been overfished. The Menhaden are a Keystone species and vital to the health of the Chesapeake Bay. Limits on their harvest need to be put in place an enforced. The osprey population is suffering as are other species that depend on a healthy Menhaden population. HB 1091 Solar Energy is the most cost effective clean source of energy we can install right now. I totally understand residents not wanting industrial solar arrays installed too close to where they live, but with that said it is better to install these solar panels on agricultural land that is not being used rather than deforest more land in order to install these solar arrays. HB 129 Why should you be able to kill deer out of season on your property if they are damaging your fruit trees, crops, or personal property..? The land owner should be made to better secure their fruit trees, crops, and personal property rather than be allowed to kill deer because they are unwilling to invest the time to better secure their property from deer. HB1396 Hunting with dogs and allowing them to run over others personal property Needs to be prohibited! Why the leash laws do not pertain to hunters using dogs makes Zero sense. This has Nothing to do with tradition, and that is not an argument that should be used in support of hunting with dogs. If Sportsman hunting with dogs want to continue using dogs to hunt, they should be made to fence in the property before releasing their dogs. HB45 All fees associated with hunting, fishing, and trapping in the commonwealth should be collected. For what reason should people be allowed to do these activities for free, partially discounted, or get reimbursed. The wildlife they are hunting, fishing, and trapping belong to all the residents of Virginia. Therefore they should pay the associated fees when engaging in an activity that removes them from the wild spaces all residents have a right to enjoy.

1396 Keep dog hunting No solar panels 1091 129 let owners kill deer 1169 leave small farms alone 1072 do not regulate sludge applications

We do not need any more solar panels on farm land or any land for that matter . Place them on top of buildings or all of the areas where there are closed businesses Farmers should cotongue to receive crop damage permits to protect their lively hood Dog hunting has been a tradition for hundreds of years. This is something that should continue on forever

Please oppose this bill solar has no place in agriculture. Solar was intended for brown lands. Try cooking your dinner in your electric oven when there is Nothing to cook. Think about it!!!

I strongly oppose hb1091 solar panels are a county by county issue. They affect people where they live and should be governed by the people who live there via their board of supervisors.

Strongly oppose hb1091 solar panels are the most inefficient excuse of “green” energy there is

As lifelong residents of Wakefield, my husband and I value its present form. We're confident that the majority of area residents, if not all, share our opposition to HB1091.

There is no more land being made. Once solar panels are installed the land can no longer produce food or fiber. Please consider your families needs for nourishment and clothing. Farmland must be preserved at all costs. It cannot be replicated or replaced. Our Country needs food. Please consider the health of our citizens and turn down these projects.

I oppose using farm land for poor quality solar panels. It is unnatural, damaging, and inefficient for the environment. We have to pay panels from China and that is a big problem. We should not be dependent upon China for energy.

I AM OPPOSSED TO THIS BILL AS IT IS NOT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF SUSSEX COUNTY. THE FARMERS NEED THIS LAND TO FARM ON. SOLAR PANELS DESTROY THE LAND AND POSE A RISK TO THE ANIMALS THAT LIVE THERE.

HB1091 should be opposed vehemently.

Strongly oppose this bill as solar and agricultural are two separate items. This bill will lessen the amount of true agricultural land in our county, as the separation of agricultural and solar is a main factor in keeping our county’s farmland and forests protected. This bill will allow solar companies more access to land they should not be allowed to build on.

Oppose this bill please.

I oppose HB 1091, solar panels have NO place here in Virginia. They are ruining good farm and do not benefit us at all.

I oppose this bill. Agriculture and solar are two different industries. If property is zoned agricultural it should not be open for solar also without the locality voting on it. We need our farmers and what they produce. Based on other solar farms in our area they make a mess on the roads with runoff and are poorly maintained. Plus they do not provide the amount of power to justify the destruction of the land.

Oppose bill Hb1091

I am writing to oppose HB1091 & HB1396. Solar farms destroy natural habitats for animals and useful land for generations. Destroying thousands of acres of forest in the name of “Green energy” doesn’t seem very green to me. Dominion Power has admitted solar is not able to sustain the load needed to power Va. I am also against requiring permits for hunting dogs. VA hunters are already required to to purchase permits for hunting. This is just a step to make it more difficult to hunt with dogs a tradition older than this country’s existence. Hound hunters dump thousands of dollars into the local economy and helps local stores and markets by purchasing dog food, fuel, and food for breakfast and lunch. Please oppose these bills.

I oppose HB1091. you cannot eat a solar panel. It is not farming. The load isnt needed locally. I didnt move to the country to live in an industrial part. NO TO INDUSTRIAL SOLAR!!

I am completely OPPOSED to HB1091. This bill implies that installing solar panels is equal to farming. Installing industrial solar IS NOT farming or "agricultural operations." I would even go as far to say this bill is an insult to the many farmers who provide our food, meat, etc. The decision to allow the installation of industrial solar should lie within the county or city. This is a very bad bill and should be scrapped.

As a concerned Virginia agricultural landowner of Page County, I strongly oppose HB1091, which seeks to amend § 3.2-300 of the Code of Virginia by adding solar panel electricity production to the definition of a protected "agricultural operation" under the Right to Farm law with traditional farming. This bill is unacceptable for the following reasons: • Solar panels are industrial infrastructure, NOT agriculture — They generate electricity for profit, not food, livestock, or rural livelihoods. Redefining them as farming is dishonest and erodes the integrity of Virginia's Right to Farm protections, which exist to shield genuine food producers from nuisance claims and overreach. • This is a giveaway to corporate solar developers — Utility-scale projects (even "dual-use" ones) prioritize energy output over agriculture. Panels shade soil, compact earth, disrupt drainage, and often make land unusable for real farming long-term, all while developers pocket massive subsidies and profits. • It threatens Virginia's vanishing farmland — The state has already lost hundreds of thousands of acres to development. Forcing localities to treat solar arrays as protected farms invites sprawl on prime cropland and forests, undermining food security and rural economies. • It strips local control and silences communities — Right to Farm shields would make it harder for counties to enforce reasonable zoning, deny permits, or respond to neighbor complaints about visual blight, property value drops, or environmental impacts—handing power to out-of-state developers over Virginians. • "Concurrent" farming is a loophole, not a safeguard — So-called agrivoltaics often means minimal grazing or crops under raised panels, with energy production dominating. This token agriculture does not justify granting full Right to Farm protections—it's a pretext to bypass opposition. • True solutions exist elsewhere — Install solar on rooftops, brownfields, parking lots, warehouses, schools, and disturbed land first. Do not sacrifice irreplaceable farmland when better options abound. HB1091 is a dangerous overreach that prioritizes renewable mandates over preserving Virginia's agricultural heritage, local rights, and rural character. I ask you to reject this bill outright—vote NO, kill it in committee, and protect real farming from industrial encroachment. Please enter this letter into the official record for HB1091 and represent the voices of rural Virginians who want to protect precious farmland and not have their communities turned into solar factories.

Please OPPOSE HB1091 solar panels are only ruining actual farmland and raw land by clearing timber to make a minimum amount of power on a maximum amount of acreage vs building an actual power station on a much smaller acreage footprint. I do not want to see Virginia turned into one big solar panel to support data center growth

Please lay this bill on the table. Solar is an industrial development not a crop that you plant and then harvest to feed Americans. It comes with all kinds of DEQ violations. The land can never be farmed again. It is just one step away from a hazardous nightmare that we will leave for generations to come.

Strongly OPPOSE! Solar shouldn’t even be in the same category as farm land! There is already enough solar in Southern Virginia taking up all the actual farm land! Please OPPOSE!

This is insane! As an actual farmer this type of legislation absolutely blows my mind. Are we in the matrix now!? I strongly OPPOSE this bill!

In regards to HB1091. This is so absolutely wrong! Please vote NO! Here is the big picture. If more and more agricultural farm land is used for solar, that is less grain, produce etc. being contributed to food supplies for humans and animals. Animals are needed for a food source. Meat, milk, butter, eggs etc. Please consider all of this and for future generations. If solar is so important, then put it in the cities. On top of buildings, covering parking lots, down the median of interstates in cities. Leave the rural agricultural and forestry alone! Thank you

Please Vote NO on this bill. Solar panels do not belong on farmland destroying the earth and environment. Additionally, they are useless.

please vote NO on this terrible bill.solar is wrong for agricultural land,and properly belongs on rooftops,brownfields and over parking areas. every acre removed from actual agricultural use is land that is lost to farming forever. thank you. ken

Please vote NO on HB1091. I oppose putting solar panels on farms.

Comments Document

I OPPOSE this inane bill! To think solar panels should be classified and taxed as an agricultural product such as crop commodities is pure ignorance. First of all, solar is a scam, and has already irreparably destroyed thousands of acres of Virginia farm and forest lands. And this unregulated and poorly performing "industry" is failing at energy production!! (see table attached of current facilities) Additionally, solar panels are polluting our soils and groundwater with toxic heavy metals such as Cadmium and forever chemical PFAS that leach from them. Solar panels are NOT an agricultural product and this bill should receive a Nay vote.

I oppose this bill. Solar panel are industrial plants and not agriculture. They present a great hazard to both the farm land and the ground water ( that’s well water for those of us that live far from public water sources). The estimated life span of solar projects is 35 years. After that time the land will be sterile and unfit for any agricultural use for quite a long time if ever. It is a gross mistake to call solar panels agriculture. They are an industrial project with grave long term consequences. It makes no more sense to call solar projects agriculture than to call an airport a bird park because “large birds land and stay there.

I oppose this bill. Solar Panels are not an agricultural product. Solar panels do not belong in the same category as Soybeans, cotton, peanuts, hay etc. They are industrial equipment not agricultural. I can provide you with studies that prove solar panels leak chemicals into the land and should not be located near food sources and our well water. In fact, Frito Lay corporation will not buy potatoes that are grown on land previous occupied by solar panels due to glass shards and chemicals leaching from the panels. I believe if you research, the US Department of Energy has acknowledged that all solar panels leach chemicals over time. Solar panels belong on buildings and over parking lots not on farmland. They also do not belong on timberland. destroying forest is not green.

Respectfully, I do not support this bill as it is proven that solar panel farms are inefficient. Considering the number of days we actually have sunlight, the costs would greatly exceed their projected savings. Instead of destroying beautiful farmland, why not provide and incentive for businesses to install solar panels on their rooftops to reduce their consumption from the power grid.