A Wisconsin congressman is trying to eliminate energy tax incentives that help finance green energy sources such as solar panels or wind arrays if such projects result in the loss of farmland. Rep. Tom Tiffany calls his legislation the 'Farm Act,' which stands for the 'Future Agriculture Retention and Management Act.'
"Taxpayers are forced to underwrite generous 'green energy' giveaways, allowing power companies to effectively tap the public treasury to subsidize solar and wind projects," Rep. Tiffany claims. "Taxpayers should not be in the business of transforming prime agricultural land into unreliable wind and solar farms. The FARM Act will get taxpayers out of the business of financing farm-threatening, green energy boondoggles."
The goal of the bill is to keep farmland in protection.
The Wausau Republican says many of these incentives, which he refers to as 'controversial renewable energy carve-outs embedded in the federal tax code,' often permanently take land out of farm production.
Recent USDA statistics note that over 100,000 acres of Wisconsin farmland was taken out of production in 2021 due to development and other uses.
Categories: Wisconsin, Government & Policy, Sustainable Agriculture