Keep the Magic Valley Magic With Fair Renewable Energy Rules
In the heart of the Magic Valley, Jerome County is weighing a decision that could shape its energy future for decades. County decisionmakers are considering an ordinance that would restrict all large-scale energy development to heavy industrial zones — effectively banning most renewable energy generation and storage projects across the county. If adopted, the rule would prevent many private property owners, including farmers, from leasing their land for wind or solar projects.
That debate isn’t happening in a vacuum. Across southern Idaho, counties like Bannock County (which has explored reversing an alternative energy ban), Gooding County, and Twin Falls County have considered or adopted increasingly restrictive rules on clean energy development. These are places with abundant wind and solar resources, wide-open spaces, and access to transmission lines — all factors that make them well suited for renewable energy. The decisions local officials make today will influence whether Idaho can diversify its energy mix, strengthen rural economies, and reduce climate pollution.
For farmers and other landowners, this issue is also deeply personal.
According to the Idaho Farm Bureau, total Idaho net farm income dropped substantially in 2024, plunging roughly 30 percent between 2022 and 2024. At the same time, farmers are facing dire financial conditions as production costs hover near record highs while crop prices remain low. When margins get squeezed, families who have worked the land for generations face difficult choices about how to keep their operations afloat.
One of those choices is whether to sell land outright. Idaho is losing roughly a farm a day, and over the past 40 years, the state has lost nearly a quarter of its farmland to development and sprawl. Developers can often offer more than a farmer could reasonably expect to earn through agricultural production alone. Selling can be an understandable decision — but once farmland is paved over or subdivided, it rarely returns to production. Farmland, open space, wildlife habitat, and rural character are permanently altered.
Leasing land for renewable energy offers a different path.
Under these agreements, farmers can dedicate a portion of their land to wind or solar projects and receive steady lease payments over a project’s 20- to 30-year lifespan. That reliable income can help stabilize a farm business during volatile markets, allowing families to hold onto their land rather than selling it for permanent development. When a project is decommissioned, equipment can be removed and the land restored.
In some cases, renewable energy can even complement agricultural production. Farmers might choose to site projects on less productive acreage. Or, with thoughtful design, they can combine farming and energy generation through agrivoltaics. Solar panels elevated high enough can allow crops to grow underneath, protecting them from extreme heat or heavy rains. Wind turbines and widely spaced solar arrays can allow continued grazing or vegetation growth between structures. These approaches can help farmers make the most of every acre when profit margins are slim.
Jerome County is one of Idaho’s most heavily agricultural counties, with agriculture serving as a cornerstone of its economy. That’s why this ordinance is so consequential. Limiting projects to heavy industrial zones would effectively shut out most agricultural land from participating in clean energy development. It would remove a voluntary economic option for private landowners and foreclose potential community benefits.
Renewable energy projects can generate construction jobs, long-term operations positions, and new tax revenue. In rural counties with limited tax bases, that revenue can help support schools, roads, and emergency services without converting farmland into housing tracts or commercial centers.
It’s understandable that county leaders want to ensure development is done responsibly. Thoughtful ordinances can establish setbacks, screening requirements, decommissioning plans, and meaningful public input. But a blanket restriction goes further — it decides in advance that renewable energy doesn’t belong on most rural land, regardless of the landowner’s wishes or the project’s merits.
Importantly, public support for local renewable energy is strong. According to a statewide poll conducted by The Nature Conservancy, two-thirds of Idaho voters support a local landowner leasing their land to build wind or solar, and 80 percent support creating agreements between clean energy communities to maximize local benefits.
At its core, this debate is about choice. It’s about whether farmers should have the freedom to diversify their income in ways that keep land in the family. It’s about whether communities should be able to weigh projects case by case, rather than banning them outright. And it’s about whether Idaho will seize opportunities to strengthen rural economies while protecting open spaces from permanent sprawl.
A solar array or wind turbine may be visible on the landscape — but it does not carve an open field into cul-de-sacs or pave it for parking lots. It does not bring the long-term traffic, water demand, and permanent fragmentation that accompany residential or commercial development.
Jerome County’s decision will reverberate beyond its borders. With balanced, well-crafted rules, the county can protect community values while preserving energy choice for landowners.
If you support fair renewable energy rules in Jerome County, you can send a letter to the Board of County Commissioners.
The future of Idaho’s rural landscapes — and the people who steward them — may depend on it.