“opposed to cutting down the forest to build a solar array facility.
At least, that seems to be what they do around here in New England.”
We have private property rights and those forest owners know they can get paid twice and more in the long run vs growing 50 years worth of trees.
They get paid for the logging to clear it out then get paid again every month for the solar power they produce if they own the systems or get paid a land use fee if they don’t. Either way they get more money in the bank vs having trees just sit there even rotational logging is less as it takes years for the planted trees to grow to market size once logged.
No conservative should support anyone telling any land owner what they can and cannot do with their land or resources.
If you live trees find a way to make them valuable enough to not cut them down for lumber or land use change.
I suspect those land owners received some type of tax credit to put that solar farm on their former timber land.
Which is also the reason why Walmart, Home Depot and all the other major corporations have NOT covered their roofs or parking lots in solar panels. IF there was a financial incentive they would already have done it.
This is why sawmills put in Co-Gen plants that burn their shavings to make steam and electricity. This is because the government in Oregon gave them a tax credit to produce the “green energy”.