No, solar panels won’t leave you starving - The Economic Times

No, solar panels won’t leave you starving - The Economic Times

The chart below shows it best. While forecasts have stuck to sober projections of linear growth, the reality has been an exponential curve as costs have plummeted. In 2023,

solar panels provided 6% of the world’s electricity, and BloombergNEF expects another 585 gigawatts of new solar capacity to be installed throughout 2024.

It looks like there’s little that could dull solar’s shine (though the full effect of ramped-up US tariffs on Chinese panels remain to be seen.) Yet, unless we’re able to figure out an affordable way to put panels in outer space, at some point there will be a limiting factor: earthly space. Arguments over land use are already bubbling up in Europe and slowing the deployment of utility-scale photovoltaic projects.There’s a particular tension between

agricultural land and solar farms. Italy’s Premier Giorgia Meloni said that solar panels were a “threat to food sovereignty,” and the government has issued an emergency decree banning farmers from leasing their land to solar developers. Those hoping to diversify their revenue streams must invest directly in the infrastructure themselves, which must now be at least 2.1 meters (7 feet) tall to allow food to continue growing underneath.

In the UK, Energy Security Secretary Claire Coutinho said that solar power shouldn’t compromise

food security and has urged local councils to reject projects on high-quality agricultural land. Similar frictions are cropping up in Spain, Romania and the Netherlands.

But the fears greatly outweigh the genuine risks to food production — and attempts to control where the solar rollout happens may end up being net negative for farmers.

farmland doesn’t seem worth it.Besides, it also assumes that agriculture and photovoltaics can’t exist side-by-side, when the evidence suggests that they can complement each other nicely. A 2023 study showed that agrivoltaics (in which land is used to produce energy and food at the same time) can often enhance crop and forage yields: In a semi-arid environment, yields of tomatoes grown alongside panels were nearly threefold higher than in a traditional system. Likewise, animal production in grazing lands can also be enhanced by reducing heat stress.

Those concerned about food security may also forget that solar power can provide a lifeline to cash-strapped farmers who are struggling to make ends meet as they battle with extreme weather and rising costs.

In May, Helen Browning, chief executive officer of the Soil Association, said during a media briefing by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit think tank that farmers were considering walking away as they could make much more money doing something else. A record run of wet weather has left many in perilous financial situations, and an annual National Farmers’ Union survey put farmers’ confidence at the lowest since it began in 2010.

Leasing land to solar developers gives farmers regular revenue for not much work, which could mean the difference between a farmer having to quit and being able to continue producing food. Speaking to the Financial Times, one Italian farmer described solar panels as “a gift from the heavens.” About 25% of designated farmland in Italy is lying fallow thanks to extreme heat, drought and rising costs. When growing food is simply unviable, why block growers from finding new ways to make a sustainable income off it, as Meloni’s new bill does?

Some are also concerned about the effect of large solar farms on biodiversity, but again, these developments can be net positive for biodiversity. Research has shown that vulnerable species are happily coexisting with solar parks, and pollinating insects are thriving as grasses and wildflowers sprout up beneath and between panels. As a UBS Group AG report points out, those concerned about

biodiversity ought to be more worried about the mining and production of materials used within solar panels, which accounts for more than 80% of the natural capital impacts of a solar power facility’s lifecycle.

There is a brewing issue in the uneven distribution of solar parks: 43% of ground-mounted installations are in the southwest and southeast of England, which is leading to fierce local opposition. Placing solar panels on brownfield sites, car parks and roofs should also be made much easier.

But pitching solar power against food and biodiversity may do more harm than good to the agricultural sector and ignores a whole host of benefits to both the planet and people.

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