US solar capacity is growing. The tradeoff: valuable farmland

Solar energy companies are leasing thousands of acres of land from Midwestern farmers, which can hinder crop-growing or grazing livestock there. It''s a tradeoff between expanding

New report sizes up solar power''s footprint on US farmland

Read the new report to learn: How many acres of U.S. farmland were covered by solar panels at the end of 2024. What percentage of total U.S. solar development has occurred on

America''s most productive farmland is at risk with solar power

About 445 acres of his fields near Wheatfield, Indiana, are covered in solar panels and related machinery—land that in April 2019 Duttlinger leased to Dunns Bridge Solar, for one of the...

Solar & Farmland: What the Data Really Shows

There''s been a lot of discussion lately about whether renewable energy projects are driving the decline in America''s farmland. It''s an important issue that intertwines two necessities—but

Solar Power Depletes Farmlands of Rich Soil

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

New study reveals dramatic rise of game-changing farming method:

The recent growth of solar grazing found in the census was attributed to a rise in installed solar capacity in the U.S., a great step toward widespread adoption of solar energy.

New Report Sizes Up Solar Power''s Footprint On US Farmland

Explore the impact of solar power on agriculture and how it affects farmland transitions in rural economies.

Press Release – New Report Sizes Up Solar Power''s Footprint On

Future analysis by AEI.ag will focus on understanding the geographic dispersion of solar projects and how farmland conversion may play out over the next several years.

The battle over land use: Farm crops versus solar farms

The U.S. Department of Energy estimates the U.S. will need 10 million acres of solar panels by 2050 to meet the nation''s net zero-carbon goals. That means acreage currently used for...

Harvesting the Sun–Twice: Agrivoltaics and Rural Land-Use

As efforts to conserve farmland intersects with the growth in renewable energy, agrivoltaics emerges as a solution to integrate agriculture and solar photovoltaic (PV) infrastructure.