The debate over Maryland’s energy future has been heated, from unwanted high-voltage power lines to a dispute about how best to provide electricity to proposed data centers. But for those of us still on the learning curve, let’s add a vocabulary word: “agrivoltaics.” That’s the term now applied to efforts to merge or “co-locate” farming with solar power. The goal is not for new solar “farms” to displace traditional agriculture but for the two activities to work together.
A perfect illustration of a potential conflict sprouted in Carroll County, where there are no fewer than a half-dozen solar projects on the drawing board. Yet here’s where things go dark. Carroll County’s zoning code does not permit solar farms on ag land. Potentially sidestepping that restriction, developers are seeking permission from the Maryland Public Service Commission, which has the final say on energy production in this state, including…
