Senate
File
2127
-
Introduced
SENATE
FILE
2127
BY
ZUMBACH
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
relating
to
commercially
owned
solar
panel
field
1
installation
on
agricultural
land.
2
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
3
TLSB
5306XS
(4)
89
es/rn
S.F.
2127
Section
1.
NEW
SECTION
.
473.42
Agricultural
land
——
solar
1
panel
eligibility.
2
1.
As
used
in
this
section,
unless
the
context
otherwise
3
requires:
4
a.
“Agricultural
land”
means
land
suitable
for
the
use
of
5
farming.
6
b.
“Commercially
owned
solar
panel
field”
or
“solar
panel
7
field”
means
a
device
or
structural
feature
owned
by
a
corporate
8
entity
that
collects
solar
energy
by
means
of
converting
solar
9
radiation
into
thermal,
mechanical,
or
electrical
energy.
10
c.
“Corn
suitability
rating”
or
“CSR”
means
the
most
recent
11
corn
suitability
rating
index
as
determined
by
the
Iowa
state
12
university
extension
and
outreach
to
rate
different
types
of
13
soil
for
potential
row-crop
productivity.
14
2.
A
commercially
owned
solar
panel
field
shall
not
be
15
installed
upon
agricultural
land
unless
all
of
the
following
16
apply:
17
a.
The
agricultural
land
has
a
CSR
of
sixty-five
or
lower.
18
b.
The
solar
panel
field
is
not
less
than
a
one-half
mile
19
distance
from
surrounding
solar
panel
fields.
20
c.
The
solar
panel
field
is
not
less
than
one
thousand
two
21
hundred
fifty
feet
from
the
nearest
adjacent
landowner.
22
EXPLANATION
23
The
inclusion
of
this
explanation
does
not
constitute
agreement
with
24
the
explanation’s
substance
by
the
members
of
the
general
assembly.
25
This
bill
relates
to
commercially
owned
solar
panel
field
26
installation
on
agricultural
land.
27
The
bill
defines
“agricultural
land”
to
mean
land
that
28
is
suitable
for
farming.
The
bill
defines
“corn
suitability
29
rating”
(CSR)
to
mean
Iowa
state
university
extension
and
30
outreach’s
corn
suitability
rating
index
which
determines
the
31
potential
for
row-crop
productivity
for
a
parcel
of
land.
The
32
bill
defines
“commercially
owned
solar
panel”
or
“solar
panel
33
field”
to
include
corporately
owned
devices
or
structural
34
features
that
collect
and
convert
solar
radiation
into
other
35
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LSB
5306XS
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89
es/rn
1/
2
S.F.
2127
energy.
1
The
bill
provides
that
the
owner
or
manager
of
agricultural
2
land
shall
not
install
a
commercially
owned
solar
panel
field
3
unless
the
solar
panel
field
has
a
CSR
of
65
or
lower,
the
solar
4
panel
field
is
at
least
one-half
mile
from
the
next
solar
panel
5
field,
and
the
solar
panel
field
is
located
at
least
1,250
feet
6
from
the
nearest
neighboring
landowner.
7
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5306XS
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es/rn
2/
2