Family Farm BFI |

Will You Help Protect Renee’s Right to Save Her Family Farm?

Renee Potts’ Mom and Dad purchased a farm near Palo after her dad left the Navy. For many happy years it was home to the Potts family. “One of the things my mom was proudest of was getting the farm,” Renee says. “It’s very important we keep it not only for us but for future generations. So the farm can stay on for us.”

Renee and her siblings all have careers, making it difficult for them to keep the family farm when they inherit it. Leasing a small corner of their land to the potential Duane Arnold Solar Farm provides the family with the financial stability to keep their parents’ legacy in the family.

“It’s our right to keep it in the family. Solar enables us to do that. Not only for us, but for future generations.”

If the Linn County Board of Supervisors reject Duane Arnold Solar Farm, the Potts could lose it all.

$68.9 million for 2021

In 2021, renewable energy land lease payments totaled $68.9 million to Iowa landowners like Renee Potts.

The Linn County Board of Supervisors is holding hearings to decide on approving the Duane Arnold Solar Farm. If they say no, there will be no farm-saving solar lease for the Potts family.

Families Like the Potts Will Benefit from Duane Arnold Solar – and So Will All of Linn County

$154 million in economic boost for THE county

Create 200 construction jobs

Attract new employers looking for access to renewable energy

$7.8 million in property taxes

Advance energy independence from homegrown solar energy that supports an all-of-the-above energy policy

Reduction in carbon emissions, helping the County to reach its carbon reduction plans

$154 million estimated economic boost

Create 200 construction jobs

$7.8 million in property taxes

Reduction in carbon emissions, helping the County to reach its carbon reduction plans

Frequently Asked Questions

Benefit to Farmers

Many farmers who lease a portion of their land to solar companies are provided with financial security. This allows them to continue to farm the rest of their land and keep the land in their families.

Solar panels are solid

Solar panels are solid and sealed and cannot be penetrated by rainwater. In the same way the screens on the smartphones we carry with us all the time do not leak, solar panels do not leach.

Soil preservation

Proper soil management during the project contributes to agricultural sustainability. Farmers can resume planting crops after decommissioning if they choose.

Solar panels are safe for the enviroment

As the Sierra Club states: Solar power “has no carbon emissions and NO other harmful toxic emissions, including mercury, lead and cadmium.”

No taxpayer money needed

The construction of solar farms in Linn County is not funded by the government or taxpayers, but rather private companies making an investment in solar energy. No local tax dollars will be used to build these projects

Using existing infrastructure

The Duane Arnold Solar Farm will be built on an old nuclear energy facility that still has a functioning substation and transmission lines, which means that minimal new infrastructure will be required, resulting in lower costs and less disruptions for people living near the solar farm.

Protecting the land

The developers have plans to control erosion and runoff by adding vegetation around the panels, as well as beautify the site with natural buffers. They’ve also set aside money to restore the land to the same or better condition it was in before, after the solar farm lease ends so the farmer can resume crop farming, if they wish.

Tell Your Supervisors – Approve Duane Arnold Solar

Will You Help Protect Renee’s Right to Save Her Family Farm?

$68.9 million for 2021

$154 million in economic boost for THE county

Create 200 construction jobs

Attract new employers looking for access to renewable energy

$7.8 million in property taxes

Advance energy independence from homegrown solar energy that supports an all-of-the-above energy policy

Reduction in carbon emissions, helping the County to reach its carbon reduction plans

$154 million estimated economic boost

Create 200 construction jobs

$7.8 million in property taxes

Reduction in carbon emissions, helping the County to reach its carbon reduction plans

Frequently Asked Questions

Benefit to Farmers

Solar panels are solid

Soil preservation

Solar panels are safe for the enviroment

No taxpayer money needed

Using existing infrastructure

Protecting the land

Protect Farmer’s Rights to Save their Farms

Join Us

Don't miss out on updates and ways you can support renewable energy.

Keep in touch

Join Us

Don't miss out on updates and ways you can support renewable energy.