Maine has a lot of momentum going into the fight against climate change, which is very heartening to see as a new transplant from Michigan.

I work in the renewable energy industry as a grassroots mobilizer to help supporters of solar and wind push projects across the finish line when resistance bubbles up.

One argument opposition makes against solar — that it takes up too much farmland — was refuted in Jay Nutting’s Feb. 20 piece, “How harvesting the sun can save family farms.”

Jay does a great job pointing out the benefits that renewables bring to communities that welcome them. However, the debate between farming and solar continues.

Just this week, a national piece on NPR mentioned that Maine doubled its solar energy capacity last year, but tensions are ever-present in communities over land use concerns.

I can speak from experience that solar farms will soon be managed as energy producers as well as working agricultural fields. It makes financial sense for operators to offset maintenance costs by harvesting a crop from the same ground. For example, one can imagine making hay instead of simply mowing the grass on 1,000 acres.

The renewable energy future has begun. If these ideas excite people, but they’re not sure how to get involved, I encourage them to become active with Citizens’ Climate Lobby, where they can help make a difference at whatever level they’re comfortable with.

We need all hands on deck.

John O’Bryan, Brunswick

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