Solar energy system installations affect lower than 1 p.c of Arkansas’ ag land
by John Lovett
Fayetteville AR (SPX) Jun 03, 2025
Giant-scale solar energy arrays occupy about 0.2 p.c of agricultural land in Arkansas, in line with an evaluation by the College of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
Photo voltaic power manufacturing is more and more getting used to satisfy each power wants and 0 internet emissions targets inside america. Arkansas is following this development with a number of utility-scale photo voltaic power manufacturing techniques in-built 2023 and 2024, and extra scheduled to return on-line within the following years. This has raised some considerations over the displacement of agricultural land for non-food manufacturing functions.
“With the Arkansas financial system extra reliant on agriculture in comparison with the nation and surrounding states, diversion of agricultural land to different makes use of attracts producer and shopper curiosity,” stated Mike Popp, Harold F. Ohlendorf Professor of agricultural economics and agribusiness and co-author of a just lately launched reality sheet titled “Agricultural Land Footprint of Photo voltaic Photovoltaic Installations in Arkansas.”
Whereas usually thought-about to have minimal affect on crop costs, different questions on proximal actual property worth impacts, publicity to climate danger and land restoration concerns exist, the very fact sheet famous.
By 2026, there might be 15 counties in Arkansas, largely within the agricultural-dominated Delta, with utility-scale photo voltaic arrays. Utility-scale is outlined as 20 megawatts or bigger. Presently, 11 counties have these large-scale photo voltaic tasks on lands outlined by a U.S. Division of Agricultural census as agricultural land. 4 extra utility-scale tasks are scheduled by 2026, together with one in Grant County on land thought-about “woodland or timberland areas.”
Utilizing info gathered from the U.S. Power Info Administration, the researchers present that utility-scale photo voltaic arrays will occupy 0.2 p.c of the state’s 13.7 million acres of agricultural land beneath present projections by 2026. In counties the place these bigger photo voltaic arrays are used, land use ranges from 0.2 to 1.7 p.c of agricultural land.
The utility-scale photo voltaic tasks vary from as much as 445 acres for a 50-megawatt website to as much as 2,670 acres for a 300-megawatt website.
As of 2023, the state had about 15,000 megawatts {of electrical} producing capability, with pure gasoline, coal, nuclear and different power sources like hydropower, photo voltaic and wind. In keeping with the examine, as much as 133,500 acres of land could be required throughout the state to double the state’s electrical producing capability with photo voltaic, offsetting demand for energy from pure gasoline, coal, nuclear and hydropower in the course of the day.
“Even beneath this excessive degree of photo voltaic improvement, which is unlikely to occur, photo voltaic would use lower than 1 p.c of the 13.7 million acres of agricultural land,” Popp stated.
Popp is a school member with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the analysis arm of the Division of Agriculture, and the Dale Bumpers Faculty of Agricultural, Meals and Life Sciences.
Photo voltaic’s progress
Photo voltaic power era has practically doubled in effectivity previously decade. To supply 1 megawatt – sufficient to energy roughly 150-200 properties yearly – about 5.5 acres of land is required, in line with a 2022 examine cited by the authors. In contrast, a 2013 examine confirmed that 1 megawatt of photo voltaic power manufacturing required about 9 acres of land.
The variety of photo voltaic arrays in Arkansas has additionally grown quickly lately, with 1,100 megawatts added in 2024 and one other 400 megawatts scheduled for this 12 months.
In keeping with USDA information cited by the researchers, photo voltaic tasks have eliminated lower than 0.05 p.c of land from agricultural functions nationwide.
Agrivoltaics
With about 28,000 acres of agricultural land comprised of irrigation reservoirs, Popp stated floating photo voltaic arrays have turn into an fascinating space for analysis to lower affect on agricultural land use.
A number of different alternatives exist for solar energy techniques to combine with agriculture, often known as “agrivoltaics,” Popp stated. Combining photo voltaic installations with sheep grazing and honeybee administration are generally cited examples of agrivoltaics.
Most well-liked lands
Personal landowners usually lease land for photo voltaic improvement, generally over a 30-year contract, the examine defined. Voluntary photo voltaic land leases vary from $450 to $2,500 per acre with a desire for cleared, leveled or southward sloping land that aren’t wetlands.
“Previous value developments and future projections showcase that utility-scale tasks to be the least-cost renewable power supply,” the examine states. “As such, growth of this sector is anticipated. With cautious planning, such techniques can result in financial and environmental advantages with minimal unfavourable agricultural land use implications.”
Authors of the examine included Travis Wagher, a Public Coverage Program Ph.D. scholar on the College of Arkansas; Hunter Goodman, assistant professor with the Division of Agriculture’s Cooperative Extension Service locally, skilled and financial improvement division; Shelby Rider, program affiliate for the experiment station within the agricultural economics and agribusiness division; and Yi Liang, an affiliate professor of organic and agricultural engineering for the Division of Agriculture and the College of Arkansas’ Faculty of Engineering.
Photo voltaic on poultry farms
Popp and colleagues within the agricultural economics and agribusiness division and the USDA’s Financial Analysis Service have additionally just lately printed a examine in Agricultural Finance Evaluation analyzing financing choices for photo voltaic funding on poultry farms.
Utilizing their Poultry Photo voltaic Evaluation resolution help software program, they confirmed {that a} 10-year word bundled with a second mortgage that’s repaid utilizing revenue tax credit over the course of 1 to 5 years, resulted in a decrease break-even electrical energy value whereas addressing money stream and borrowing capability considerations. An extended 20-year word additional eased money stream points at the price of much less favorable leverage and internet current worth, the examine concluded.
Analysis Report:Agricultural Land Footprint of Solar Photovoltaic Installations in Arkansas
Associated Hyperlinks
Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station
All About Solar Energy at SolarDaily.com
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