LETTER — Solar projects can benefit local landowners

Published 6:27 pm Thursday, April 15, 2021

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To the Editor:

After watching other counties get a look at new solar developments, Charlotte County is getting its chance to approve projects of its own. As a landowner with the opportunity to participate in a future project, I wanted to advocate for the wide reaching benefits this project will have for Charlotte and many of my fellow residents.

The Randolph solar project proposed by SolUnesco has the opportunity to lift up dozens of local landowners, including many that only own small parcels of land and do not operate large-scale farming or timber tracts.

Some local landowners find themselves in a difficult situation. They may have inherited land from prior generations and find it difficult to turn long-term profits through smaller farming operations.

Anyone with farming tracts in operation knows how difficult it is to make ends meet from year to year. Randolph Solar gives owners like myself the chance to keep land in our family while providing guaranteed income for 25 years. This not only benefits participating landowners, but also the entire community.

Randolph Solar will bring jobs, increase local tax revenue, and give our children and grandchildren an opportunity to remain in a county we love without having to rely solely on successful farming operations for years to come.

I am proud to be a participating landowner. Randolph Solar is a strong long-term investment in our community and I encourage others to support this important project.

Curtis Morton

Randolph