As solar capacity grows, some of America's most productive farmland is at risk

[farmbo]

5. Agrivoltaics--farming under solar panels-- is the solution to this "concerning" problem.

Most utility-scale solar projects now being proposed in the Midwest corn belt region are permitting some form of continued farming operations under the panels. This can include perennial grasses and pollinator plants, sheep grazing, vegetable crops or, for systems with tracker or horizontal panels, row crops planted and harvested on designated days or after sunset.

This Reuters study, which is admittedly NOT representative of broader U.S., also ignores the fact that much of the land being proposed for solar projects is currently used in pesticide and fertilizer intensive monocropping: an endless rotation of corn, beans, Roundup, and NPK. Monocropping is what is putting our precious farmland "at risk".

Viewed outside the prism of "this year's profits", a 25-to-30-year solar project combined with a robust agrivoltaics component, will leave the underlying soil better in terms of soil moisture, microbial populations, soil biomass, and carbon sequestration, when contrasted with chemical-intensive monocrop farming.

Fun Fact: the title of the Reuters article ("Solar puts farmland at risk&quot is essentially the tagline being used now by Fossil Fuel funded astroturf groups to oppose the siting of solar projects in Midwest farming areas.

Coincidence?