Mitigate
Sometimes, siting infrastructure on lands of high agricultural or conservation value cannot be avoided. In these cases, minimization efforts will likely not compensate for those losses, and project developers must provide what is known as “compensatory mitigation.”
Compensatory mitigation can include the conservation of other lands of high agricultural or conservation value or a fee-in-lieu based on the impact of the project. Such fees generally go into a state fund for conservation, agriculture, and restoration. Funds should be used for conservation projects within the same region as the energy project. Note that many land trusts will only partner on mitigation after careful consideration of mission consistency, the quality of the mitigation and whether there is a net gain (or more) of conservation habitat, the provision of funding to cover transaction and stewardship costs and analysis of the public benefits or lack thereof of the energy project in question.
Mitigation should be calculated based on cumulative project impacts and account for the following:
Conservation values
Ecosystem services
Ecosystem’s initial health and quality
Extent of new transmission infrastructure and potential land-use conflicts off the primary site
Avoid: A utility-scale solar project is necessary in your land trust’s service area. The developer has proposed building it on a tract of high-value grassland adjacent to a conserved property. Your land trust commits to finding an alternative based on your own research and community input.
Minimize: Your land trust evaluates other site options and identifies a promising brownfield site that is closer to an existing substation. You’ve also identified a potential transmission corridor that will run mostly through degraded farmland, where you encourage the developer to provide native pollinator habitat.
Mitigate: Despite the minimization efforts, the construction may affect an off-site wetland. You guide the developer in offsetting that impact by paying a fee-in-lieu to the state.
Your land trust can explore real-life examples of the mitigation hierarchy in action and find tools to help you apply it on the Tools and Resources page.
What makes a site attractive to a developer?
To create win-win siting decisions, land trusts also need to understand the factors that developers look for to balance cost efficiency, permitting ease, and grid access.
Conserved lands and renewable energy
In some cases, it may not be possible to avoid conserved lands. The following practical pointers help land trusts stay informed and navigate risks associated with specific legal challenges related to siting energy infrastructure on conserved lands.