CARLISLE, Pa. -- A solar-array project unveiled in Carlisle on Monday will not only generate renewable power, but will also provide real benefits for local farms and pollinator insects.

The seven-acre pollinator-friendly solar array will provide power to the headquarters of Giant Foods, a major supermarket chain. Under and around the panels, the site also will provide ample space for a variety of native plants such as butterfly milkweed and blue mistflower, selected to attract the pollinating insects critical to nearby farms.

According to Center for Pollinators and Energy director Rob Davis, this pollinator solar array will serve as a model for projects anticipated to be developed over the next 10 years.

"More than 3 million acres of land will be used for ground-mount solar projects," Davis said. "So, the project we build today will inform all of the best solar practices we use tomorrow and next year and the year after that."

The project is the first pollinator-friendly solar array to open in Pennsylvania.

Robin Ernst is president of Ernst Pollinator Service, which designed the seed mix and planted the seeds at the solar array. She said the plantings will have multiple benefits for the site.

"By being revegetated with native pollinators, we're able to help build those soils. We have stronger root systems in place that will help with runoff, add beautification and provide habitat for our pollinators," Ernst said.

She said the flowering plant species will be in bloom by the summer of 2021 and the meadow should be fully functional the following year.

Davis said the project shows that any city, county, company or organization can plan and build a pollinator solar array by following what he called a "pollinator-friendly scorecard."

"The scorecard is a flexible, science-based tool that demonstrates that within the managed landscape of a solar farm, there's enough flowers and flowering vegetation to provide a meaningful benefit for pollinators at scale," Davis said.

Pollinator-friendly scorecards can be downloaded at beeslovesolar.org.



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ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Farm bureaus and agricultural leaders of Chesapeake Bay watershed states are pushing the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fund a major initiative to reduce farm runoff pollution in the bay and its waterways.

Six farm agencies - from states including Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York - are urging Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to put more than $730 million behind the Chesapeake Resilient Farms Initiative. It aims to help farmers with conservation efforts to cut chemical and sediment contamination.

Denise Stranko, federal executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, said time is running out to meet federal cleanup goals.

"We know that roughly 80% of the reductions that are still left need to come from agriculture," she said. "And so efforts like this - a bold move by USDA to acknowledge that and say, 'Yes, we are going to send more money to the watershed' - it would just be a huge step toward getting us to that 2025 deadline."

With 83,000 farms in the region, farm runoff is the largest single source of water pollution in the bay and its tributaries, according to the foundation. Runoff makes up 49% of the bay's three main pollutants: nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment.

Farm runoff needs to contain about 50 million fewer pounds of nitrogen than it does now by 2025, said Doug Myers, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's senior scientist for Maryland. His group has been working with Maryland lawmakers to reform the state's conservation practices to meet that target. Now, more diverse cover crops are in place that help use less fertilizer, and soon the addition of stream buffers will also protect against runoff.

"Those are two big policy changes that we think will accelerate the agriculture sector," he said, "and if that was to be matched up with really good funding for agricultural programs from the feds, I think we could not only make but exceed our goals."

President Joe Biden's proposed budget for 2022 promises about $90 million for the Chesapeake Bay Program to clean up the watershed, a $3 million increase over current funding.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- The historic clean-energy bill signed into Illinois law yesterday includes measures from closing coal and natural gas plants by 2045 to funding for clean-energy opportunities for Black, brown and Indigenous workers.

It also sets the deadline for net-zero emissions by 2050, increases funding for wind and solar, and keeps three nuclear power plants open for five more years.

Dulce Ortiz, co-chair of Clean Power Lake County, said it is important the bill focuses on Black and brown residents and frontline communities.

"The climate and equitable-job section prioritizes Black and brown communities that have been disproportionately impacted and historically suffered due to exposure to toxic pollution," Ortiz explained.

Opponents of the law argued closing coal and natural-gas plants could raise electricity bills. State Democratic lawmakers noted consumers can expect to pay between $3.55 and $4 more per month.

Ortiz, who lives near a coal-fired power plant, argued the plants need to be closed to protect the health and wellness of surrounding communities.

Pat Devaney, secretary treasurer of the Illinois AFL-CIO, a member of Climate Jobs Illinois, said the bill sets some of the nation's strongest labor standards, such as requiring collective-bargaining agreements for all utility-scale wind and solar.

He added it also helps communities currently reliant on coal and natural gas transition to the clean economy.

"With these provisions, we can ensure the clean-energy grid of the future will be built and maintained right here in Illinois by highly trained union workers to the benefit of their families and their communities," Devaney asserted.

For people who live in work in communities where power plants are closing down, the bill establishes community grants, and a "Displaced Energy Worker Bill of Rights." Advance notice of any closures is required, as well as financial advice, employment assistance and career services.

HELENA, Mont. -- Montanans are delivering a message to the offices of Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., across the state today: Support bold investments in the country's future.

Congress is considering a $3.5 trillion budget, which includes major investments to address climate change. Tester was instrumental in crafting the bipartisan infrastructure bill last month, which carried a $1 trillion price tag.

Caitlin Piserchia, climate and political organizer for the Sierra Club Montana chapter, said lawmakers now have a chance to pass an ambitious budget reconciliation bill.

"With the budget reconciliation bill, we have an opportunity to pass something three times the size with priorities that could be truly transformational for Montana and for the rest of the country," Piserchia asserted.

Montanans are delivering care packages to six Tester offices from Kalispell to Billings today. They are calling on the senator to support six priorities in the reconciliation bill, including moving the country toward 100% clean energy, repealing federal fossil-fuel subsidies and retrofitting and electrifying all schools and hospitals.

Congress is still working out the details of the reconciliation bill, the fate of which has been tied to the infrastructure bill.

Piserchia wants to see the measures pass in September while there is still the political will to move forward on them. She added it is also crucial to act on climate change now as it impacts on the country grow and in light of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, which urged the world to act quickly to prevent more warming.

"Also, it's coming at a time when there are significant wildfires in Montana," Piserchia pointed out. "There's been a drought emergency, and that IPCC report just came out, concluding that we're coming closer to the end of our window to change the outcomes that we could be facing."

Piserchia noted they are also calling on Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., to support the budget reconciliation, but admitted it is a long shot. Daines voted against the infrastructure bill in August. Because of how it is crafted, the reconciliation bill just needs a simple majority in the Senate to pass.