Agrivoltaics: A social study – What Reddit Can Tell Us About Opposition To Solar Farming and What it Takes to Change Minds

In dry conditions with wet winters and shade-loving crops, combining solar and farming can create a synergistic effect where both energy and crop production are enhanced. Agrivoltaics, pairing solar energy with farming and ranching–vegetation and livestock–can boost production and control wind and soil erosion, increase pollinator habitat, and promote soil health. Crops are sheltered from intense rain or hail, a common problem on traditional farms. They are also protected from an overabundance of sunlight. Excess sunlight, not required in certain growing conditions, can be harvested for energy generation.

If properly sited, solar panels partner well with farming. They can be more efficient on farmland, especially with trackers, and shade-loving crops will have improved growing conditions. Rainwater is directed to crops planted below the bottom edge of the solar panels. While you may not be able to pack in as many panels per acre as on a rooftop, the soil and vegetation below the panels cool the panels due to evapotranspiration, which also enhances panel production efficiency. Solar panels provide pollinator habitat as well as grazing and shade for some farm animals, an added benefit, especially in the U.S., where 35% of farmland is used for grazing.¹

I recently saw a sign in the Lafayette/Erie rural suburbs of Boulder, Colorado, that said, “Say NO to solar panels on our farms.” I was surprised to see this–was solar being forced on farms?

Though not a traditional research source, I found Reddit useful in distilling the nuanced sentiments of the debate, based on socio-economics and policy. One commenter on Reddit addressed the issue: “It amuses me that people who are strongly into property rights believe they can tell farmers what they can do with their property. The whole world isn’t a HOA.”²

Those opposed to solar argue the economics of land use and property values. Opposition to solar farms is primarily due to misinformation, conflicts in property rights, land use, economic uncertainties, and cultural values. Cultural value conflicts are generally rooted in a community’s identity as rural.

Despite the strong sentiment of disapproval of solar power in rural America, credible research organizations and farmers are pairing solar and farming as a win-win. The agriculture industry needs innovative solutions like agrivoltaics to make the industry more sustainable by addressing its often-criticized high carbon footprint and energy consumption.³

Opposition to Solar Farming

While much of the debate over solar farms is about land use and straightforward NIMBY (Not in my back yard) -ism, a lot of it is also linked to political “culture wars” where the opposition is getting their information from oil and gas proponents who have vested interests against renewable energy, no matter how and where it is produced.

Rural America doesn’t want to lose its agricultural identity. This is part of their culture. Solar development is akin to modernization and industrialization, which are seen by some as fundamentally opposed to a rural way of living. Using the sun as fuel however, is inherent to farming.

Economics

The economic value of each acre of farmland is directly tied to the cost of food. Solar can add more revenue than “cash crops” alone, raising the value of the land. However, land use for energy is still just a drop in the bucket, accounting for just 0.4% of ice-free land globally. And yet, almost 50% of the world’s habitable land is dedicated to agriculture.⁴

Comparing growing corn for energy to solar production is no contest– it takes about 31 hectares of corn ethanol to produce the same amount of energy generated by one hectare of land covered in solar panels.⁵

Some of the opposition is not against solar entirely, but feel it should be limited to rooftops and parking lots. Their stance is more of an “either/or” approach, instead of “and/along with.” This sentiment highlights some of the nuances of the public debate. Agrivoltaics can offer a bridge, providing the best of both worlds to farming and clean energy.

Propaganda

There is also a lot of misinformation being spread out there, such as solar panels contribute to global warming by reflecting heat into the atmosphere, and solar panels leach chemicals into the ground below them, both of which are completely untrue. A North Carolina town rejected a solar farm project out of fears that they ‘suck energy from the sun’, and cause cancer, both of which are also not true.⁶ More likely, this concern stems from an overall anti-development sentiment. Residents were also concerned that a nearby solar farm would decrease their property values. Often, the opposite is true, or developers can make small adjustments to improve outcomes. “The folks concerned about property value are generally referring to home value, if they live nearby. Studies have been consistent in showing that nearby property values may be slightly increased or decreased, but it is a wash. Impacts on the value of nearby farmland is little more complicated. Adjacent farmland that is near interconnection points, may become more valuable for further solar development or for mixed-use agrivoltaics. Its value for conventional farming is likely to remain unchanged, but we’ve heard of cases where rapid solar development can erode traditional rural economies. Community dialog–without panic–is key,” according to Jill Cliburn, who consults with utilities and solar planners on community engagement.⁷

Teasing apart anti-progress from an ”anything new” sentiment can quickly become political. It is a difficult situation because, for example, it is easy not to want a data center in or near your backyard; therefore not a far stretch not to want the energy production near you to power it.

People express fear of fires, but they do not seem to be well informed about how fires might start or why they are, in fact, extremely rare. The rise in battery energy storage systems has created a storm of controversy in some states. This is especially true when a fire does break out in an outdated, substandard battery plant or in a facility used for car battery-related manufacture.

Politics

There is and is going to be a continuously expanding need for more energy production due to the increased demand for and by data centers.

Let’s be clear – no one is being forced to produce solar. However, there is concern that legislation in many states allows power producers to overrule local zoning decisions on major energy facilities.

Many of the voices in these rural areas are voices of opposition. Bedford County (Virginia) Board of Supervisors said, “I’m going to suggest right now that we make it clear that Bedford County — we have a great economy made up of recreation, tourism, and agriculture, and putting solar panels here would do nothing but destroy the character of this county. And I’ll tell you right now, before those sons of b— come in here and put solar panels in, I will fight to the death.”⁸

The irony of this conservative viewpoint is that it runs against a long-held conservative principle: property rights. The complications over government power and its imposition over both how you can and can’t use your land provide a nuanced discussion with many viewpoints that are sometimes conflicting. Some counties have imposed caps on how much land they’ll allow for solar development or set up other rules that make solar development difficult.

The objections to solar vary from place to place, but one objection is consistent. Many people in rural areas see solar farms — a term that is sadly coming to be regarded as propaganda — as industrial development, incompatible with a rural community. If people wanted to look out on an industrial site, they wouldn’t be living in (fill in the blank with whatever community is involved).

Solutions

As the Native Americans taught us, farming is part of our sustenance, our survival. There is a connection between the economic and energetic need for farmers to be responsible for their carbon footprint. Agrivoltaic systems can help farms diversify income, provide energy, and reduce carbon footprint.

© USDA Climate Hubs

Agrivoltaics can help nurse our disturbed lands back to life. In November of 2024, NREL published the longest-run, most comprehensive assessment of interactions between solar, soil, habitat, and pollinators to date. The research found that prairie restoration activities can occur underneath solar panels, with observed increased abundance and diversity of both vegetation and pollinators.⁹

How much land is needed? By 2050, ground-based solar could require about 0.5% of the land in the contiguous U.S., according to the EPA’s Solar Futures Study. The study suggests prioritizing disturbed lands (8% of land) and dual-use land opportunities such as agriculture.¹⁰

Pairing ground mounts with single-axis trackers as well as bifacial solar fencing uses an even smaller footprint.

NREL estimates that the U.S. would meet its renewable energy goals if one million acres of farmland were covered in solar.11 Agriculture, food, and related industries in the United States total over $1 trillion, or about 5% of the country’s GDP. Almost half (44%) of U.S. land is used for agriculture, and the direct output of America’s farms contributes $134.7 billion, or about 0.6% the the country’s GDP. Food and solar energy are not at odds; in fact, they are complementary.

I spoke to farmers who voiced their concerns. “What do we do when they don’t work anymore?” By educating that the panels and electronics are replaced in 25 years or so, citizens can be empowered to be part of the solution. Others expressed fears of wasted land, not knowing the secret lives of leafy greens, tomatoes and peppers who thrive in partial shade.

Internal champions and advocates are needed in rural areas so that the sentiment is one of choice and less of forced change. Emphasizing the dual use of solar as an adjunct to farming instead of competition is central to this conversation.

The more we can listen to each other, the better we can work together to meet our energy needs sustainably. And as technology, education, and public support increase, the better options we will have, and the more agrivoltaics will be embraced and deployed on our farmlands to secure
a clean living future.

About the Author
Carly Rixham is the Executive Director for American Solar Energy Society (ASES) and Editor in Chief of Solar Today magazine. She received her Masters in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at University of Colorado at Boulder. In her free time she enjoys art, gardening, beekeeping, and skiing.

Sources

1. https://tinyurl.com/2vv2xn6n
2. https://www.reddit.com/r/solar
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7. https://tinyurl.com/yck78ky6
8. https://tinyurl.com/4ht7xyyv
9. https://tinyurl.com/4knhmw3u
10. https://tinyurl.com/4tjavjxu
11. https://tinyurl.com/5n7kvjyw