What People Say vs What the Numbers Say
Most heated claims about wind and solar are partially true — and become misleading at scale. Here is each common claim with the relevant numbers next to it.
Solar is destroying farmland.
Even the largest currently-proposed solar buildouts are a small fraction of Michigan's 9.47 million acres of farmland — typically well under 1%.
USDA NASS · See Land Use Reality.
Wind turbines stop farming.
Modern turbines have a footprint of roughly half an acre to one acre each. The land between and around them keeps producing crops.
MSU Extension.
Wind and solar only exist because of subsidies.
Independent analyses (e.g. Lazard's annual LCOE report) find wind and solar are among the lowest-cost new electricity sources before subsidies are applied.
Lazard LCOE.
Farmers are being tricked into bad deals.
Contracts vary widely. Some are excellent, some have issues. The remedy is review, not avoidance — see the Contract Checklist.
MSU Extension legal resources.
Solar permanently ruins the land.
Whether the land is restored depends entirely on the decommissioning terms in the contract. A properly bonded decommissioning clause requires removal and restoration at the developer's expense.
Michigan Farm Bureau model lease guidance.