Cashing out? Farmland quality and the adoption of utility-scale solar energy

As solar energy grows, so do concerns about the loss of high-quality farmland to solar development. Using a national, parcel-level analysis and multiple indices for farmland quality, this paper examines whether solar energy is more likely to be located on high-quality farmland across the United States. We find little correlation between the share of Prime farmland and solar development on parcels, but solar development was more likely on farmland that is not Prime but categorized as “Important” by state or local officials. Using three indices of farmland quality, however, we find a slight negative correlation between farmland quality and solar development. The findings suggest solar is not disproportionately sited on parcels with high-quality farmland but is more likely on farmland categorized as important for agricultural production. We discuss how institutional and regulatory factors may already limit solar on the highest quality farmland.