Solar power generation on arable land

Can solar power be used on arable land?

Building PV on arable land can alleviate the conflict between people and land and promote sustainable social development [96, 97]. In Gansu, China, a 1.61-ha PV farm grows crops like cilantro, peppers and tomatoes, using panels to reduce evaporation and save over 50 % water.

Can solar power be installed on agricultural land?

While wind turbines on agricultural land are already put into practice, solar power production on agricultural land is still under research. Here, we propose photovoltaic systems that are suitable for installation on agricultural land.

Will PV project develop on agricultural land?

First, PV will gradually withdraw on agricultural land. In the face of the strictest arable land protection system, PV project development should avoid competing with food and other crops for light sources, and comply with the national guarantee of arable land retention and permanent basic farmland requirements.

Which countries use mainly arable land for solar projects?

This structure is based on observed tendencies for solar siting in Europe, India, Japan and South-Korea (see Table S2 in SM), showing that mainly arable land is used for current USSE projects, and supported by academic literature 17, 33, 34, 57, 58 and solar industry reports 59, 60.

Is solar energy a good option for land use?

However, recent studies based on satellite views of utility-scale solar energy (USSE) under operation, either in the form of photovoltaics (PV) or concentrated solar power (CSP), show that their land use efficiency (LUE) is up to six times lower than initial estimates 17, 18, 19.

Is PV aglectric farming a viable solution for a renewable future?

Further study should account for these factors. In this work, we show that PV aglectric farming is a viable solution to relax the land constraint for a renewable future. PV aglectric farms, wind aglectric farms and regular PV parks will be used according to the local renewable resource and land availability.