Studies of American opinions on clean energy development show that, in general, people have a slightly negative view of large-scale solar installations that replace farmland (although adding agrivoltaics uses to sites turns negative impressions neutral in even the strongest opponents). 

Despite those concerns, new research by the Solar Energy Industries of America (SEIA) indicates that Americans don’t have much to worry about. The group says that utility-scale solar uses just 0.07% of U.S. prime farmland — far less than is currently used for golf courses and suburban development.

An interactive map tool produced by SEIA shows that in even the states with the highest solar penetration, the amount of prime farmland used for solar never exceeds 0.5%. 

States with the highest penetrations are California, in which 77.8 of the available 18,077.8 square miles of prime farmland is used for solar (0.43%), and Rhode Island, in which 0.9 of 213 square miles are used (0.42%). In both these states, prime farmland used for golf courses and suburban development is more than triple that of the area used for solar.

“America depends on our land to grow our food, build our communities, and power our lives,” said SEIA president and CEO Tim Pawlenty in a statement. “Responsible land use means balancing all of those needs. This map helps provide important context by showing that solar and agriculture can thrive together. Solar development uses a very small amount of farmland compared to many other common land uses, while also delivering affordable energy, local tax revenue, and reliable income for farmers and landowners.”

The move by SEIA to publish this farmland data at this time appears to be driven by the farm bill now under consideration in the U.S. Senate. Provisions in the House version of the bill would block U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) funding — most notably from the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) — for ground-mounted solar arrays that cover 50 acres or more of farmland.

In the past, SEIA has argued that bans on solar development can actually harm small farms, as many farmers choose to lease part of their land to solar developers to earn a steady, predictable stream of income that augments their revenue from farming crops.

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