Solar energy development on farmland: Three prevalent perspectives of conflict, synergy and compromise in the United States

Abstract

As farmland has become a key place for grid-scale, ground-mounted solar energy development, there needs to be more analysis to explore what energy transitions mean for the future of agriculture. This article uses the food–energy–water (FEW) nexus framework to delineate three different perspectives of solar energy development on farmland. The first two perspectives fit into the FEW nexus language of “trade-offs” and “synergies” respectively, arguing that solar energy development either conflicts with agricultural land use and food security or, alternatively, that the two land uses can be co-located appropriately to create agrivoltaic systems. The third perspective is a compromise, arguing that solar energy - neither a complete trade-off to nor completely synergetic with continued agriculture - preserves farmland for future agricultural use. By analyzing these perspectives together, we further understand implications of solar energy development. While each of these perspectives is important, agrivoltaics has the greatest potential to play a positive role across both energy and agricultural transitions. Nonetheless, there are several key barriers to agrivoltaic development, including the need for sufficient access to water, local knowledge and appropriate agricultural resources, and sustained interest from solar energy developers. The development of agrivoltaics, and solar energy in general, should raise important political questions of land access and resource use.