Solar power generation on non-basic farmland

Should solar energy be located on farmland?

Locating solar energy on farmland could significantly increase the available land for solar development, while maintaining land in agricultural production and expanding economic opportunities for farmers, rural communities, and the solar industry.

Will agricultural land be used for solar energy?

Agricultural land in the U.S. has the technical potential to provide 27 terawatts of solar energy capacity. This is a quarter of the total U.S. solar energy capacity of 115 TW. Only 0.3% of farmland is expected to be used for solar energy by 2035. Will using land for solar panels drive up the price of food?

Will 83 percent of solar energy be on farmland?

Researchers at American Farmland Trust, a non-profit farmland protection organization, however, found that 83 percent of new solar energy development in the United States will be on farm and ranchland, unless current government policies change. Nearly half would be on the nation’s best land for producing food, fiber, and other crops.

Are solar energy projects causing a loss of farmland?

While losing farmland is a concern for the state, solar energy projects only make up a “very small percentage” of the actual loss of prime farmland, said Michael Zastoupil, agricultural and food systems planner, and that residential development is the main driving cause.

Is solar energy depleting farmlands?

Solar energy is depleting farmlands of their rich soils in the U.S. Midwest. The solar industry is moving into the U.S. Midwest, drawn by cheaper land rents, access to electric transmission, massive federal and state incentives, and the region’s wide-open fields.

Is solar energy a good option for farmers?

Solar energy offers farmers the opportunity to harvest the sun twice—the same reason land is good for farming (flat, open areas), also makes it good for solar installations. The Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) is researching the opportunities and trade-offs of agrivoltaics.