By 2020, the global capacity of PV energy had climbed to 760 gigawatts. Much of this came from installations in leading regions like Asia, Europe, and North America. Most systems were built on open ground—often farmland—stirring concern over their effect on food production and ecosystems.
The widespread use of agricultural land for solar farms has sparked fears of shrinking crop yields and harm to biodiversity. Rural communities have voiced worries too, pointing to risks like fewer farming jobs and increased depopulation.
To ease this tension, researchers have turned to agrivoltaics—an idea that dates back to 1982. This dual-use method allows solar panels and crops to share the same land. Early designs let sunlight reach the plants underneath, preserving growing conditions.
what are the main barriers at present to rolling this out on a wider scale? is it still somewhat unproven as a technology, or just considered too expensive?
You can’t use heavy machinery under the solar panels, so the crops mainly need to be tended to, and picked, by hand. So farmers are limited in choice of crops. All corn, canola and cereals are off the table, once these panels are in place.
I’ve seen some fields with solar panels used to raise sheep.
The better question is, why isn’t every car park covered in solar panels?
That has started to come under question, though. With vertical east-west facing panels the same effect can be achieved, although the effect might not be as drastic. That doesn’t put a limit to machine height, although care must be taken to find an optimal distance between the panels.
