Two new studies suggest that dedicating a portion of US farmland to solar power would be a boon for both the energy system and the farmers themselves.
In the United States, approximately 46,000 square miles of farmland, an area roughly sized in Pennsylvania, is currently used to grow ethanol-fueled corn. The new study investigated the effects of using a small scale of this land for sunlight instead.
Currently, only a small portion of farms that grow ethanol corn are close enough to the transmission line to suit solar arrays. Together, these farms cover just 1,500 square miles, researchers estimate, but if used for solar power, they produce as much energy as all farms in the US that grow corn for fuel. Survey results It was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Installing solar power generation can help farms. As the authors point out, the land underneath the solar panels can be used to cultivate wild flowers that draw bees, hornets and other insects needed to pollinate crops in nearby fields. Solar arrays can also provide farmers with a predictable source of income.
In some places, growers can make money Essentially more New research from California farmers suggests that the best option might be to do both, but from leasing land for the sun rather than cultivating crops. Farmers who produce crops and host solar arrays tend to be more economically safe than either. studyIt is published in Nature’s sustainability.
“If I were a farmer, these two-acre solar arrays would pay me a certain amount of money throughout the year,” said Jacob Stid, lead author of Michigan State University. Income from solar helps offset losses from seasonal droughts, for example. Stid said, “The conversation should not be about the sun or agriculture, it should not be about the sun or agriculture.”
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