Agriculture and Solar Energy: Can Solar Panels Generate Electricity Without Destroying Farmland? + Photos

The expansion of solar power plants in Europe has intensified competition over agricultural land, but agrivoltaics, or solar agriculture, could offer a solution to this challenge. In this approach, solar panels are installed alongside crops so that the land is used simultaneously for food and electricity production. Agriculture and Solar Energy: Can Solar Panels Generate Electricity Without Destroying Farmland? + First Photos

According to Ambassador Arjan, the expansion of renewable energy is one of Europe's main solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; But the development of solar power plants requires a lot of land, and this issue has led to the difference between electricity production and food production in agricultural areas. In a situation where farmers are struggling with drought, extreme heat and increasing production costs, allocating agricultural land to solar power plants can put more pressure on the agricultural sector.

On the other hand, agrivoltaic technology tries to reconcile these two needs. In this method, solar panels are installed on top of agricultural land, between rows of crops or on the edge of fields to enable the simultaneous production of electricity and agricultural products. However, experts emphasize that the success of this technology does not depend only on the amount of electricity produced; Rather, it should be determined to what extent farmers, the environment and local communities will benefit from its benefits.

What is agrivoltaic and how does it combine agriculture with solar energy?

Agrivoltaics, also known as Photovoltaic agriculture or Agri-PV, is a method of simultaneously using the same land to produce agricultural products and solar electricity. In this system, the panels are installed in such a way that it is possible to continue the agricultural activity under or between them.

For example, in the Murcia region of southeastern Spain, researchers are investigating the impact of this technology on crops such as bell peppers, grapes, and dragon fruit. In this area, in addition to generating electricity, solar panels can change the growing conditions of some crops by creating shade and protect them from extreme heat.

A study estimated in 2023 that the potential capacity of electricity generation using agrivoltaic systems in Europe could reach about 25 times the current electricity demand of the continent. This figure represents the high theoretical capacity of this technology, not the amount of electricity currently being produced or guaranteed to be fully realized.

Despite this capacity, agrivoltaic development depends on proper design, agricultural product selection, weather conditions and land management. Therefore, installing solar panels on any farm does not necessarily lead to a simultaneous increase in food and electricity production.

Why is Europe looking to develop solar agriculture?

The increasing demand for clean electricity and the need to reduce carbon emissions have led governments and large technology companies to invest in solar projects. Meanwhile, some sparsely populated areas of southern Europe have a high capacity for solar energy development due to favorable solar radiation.

In January, Elon Musk's comments about the possibility of powering Europe from sparsely populated areas of Spain and Sicily once again drew attention to southern Europe's solar potential. However, exploiting such capacity is dependent on power transmission infrastructure, energy storage, investment, and environmental considerations.

Big companies like Amazon and Apple have also entered this market. According to the published report, these two companies in southern Italy have signed contracts to purchase electricity from solar agricultural projects with a combined capacity of more than 150 megawatts. According to the same report, this amount of capacity is estimated to be enough to provide electricity to about 100 thousand Italian households annually.

The European Union also supports the development of this technology. The AGRISOL project, with a budget of around 1.9 million euros, pursues investments in projects related to solar agriculture, including in Italy and Spain. Also, according to the report, Italy has allocated about 1.7 billion euros of government aid for this area.

These investments show that solar agriculture can become part of the European strategy for the development of clean energy; Of course, on the condition that the interests of agriculture are not on the sidelines of electricity production goals.

What do the European laws say for the protection of agricultural land?

One of the main concerns about the development of solar power plants is the possibility of a decrease in the area under cultivation and a drop in the production of agricultural products. For this reason, some countries have regulations for agrivoltaic projects so that agricultural activity continues after the installation of panels.

In France, according to the framework presented in the report, projects must maintain at least 90% of the production of the reference product set in the region. In Italy, at least 70% of the project area must be dedicated to agricultural activities.

However, simply meeting the set percentages is not enough to guarantee success. Experts believe that it should be checked what crop is cultivated, how the quality of the soil changes and whether the farmer can still have a sustainable economic activity after installing the panels.

Pilar Flores, coordinator of one of the EU-funded agrivoltaic projects at Murcia's Agricultural and Environmental Research and Development Institute, emphasizes that the protection of agriculture should be the main criterion for evaluating these projects. From this point of view, the goal should not be only to produce more electricity, but also to minimize the possible damage to agricultural land.

On the other hand, using apparently empty or abandoned land is not always the best option. Some of these lands may have ecological value or be habitat for different species. Therefore, the selection of the project location should be based on the assessment of agriculture, environment and energy infrastructure.

Advantages of solar panels for farmers; From reducing water consumption to increasing income

One of the most important potential benefits of agrivoltaic is the creation of controlled shading on agricultural land. This shade can reduce the evaporation of water from the soil surface in hot and dry conditions and help maintain humidity. Also, panels in some designs can protect products from hail and some of the stresses caused by adverse weather conditions.

These features are very important in areas like southern Spain; The areas where farmers are facing increasing temperature, lack of water and fluctuations in rainfall. In some conditions, the shade panels can reduce the heat stress of plants and improve the efficiency of water consumption.

Researchers from Murcia have reported that in the experiments conducted, bell peppers under water stress under solar panels performed better than the compared irrigated samples. Of course, this result is related to the conditions of the same experiment and it cannot be generalized to all products, regions and agricultural systems.

Farmers can also use the generated electricity to power water pumps, equipment and other farm activities. If excess electricity is produced and the conditions for connecting to the grid are available, it is also possible to sell it. Some farmers can earn additional income by leasing part of their land to energy developers.

However, the amount of profitability depends on the cost of equipment installation, financial contracts, the type of cultivation, the price of electricity and the possible reduction in crop production. Therefore, agrivoltaic will be beneficial to the farmer when the income from the electricity offsets the project costs and any possible reduction in agricultural production.

Does solar agriculture solve the problem of agricultural land abandonment?

Proponents of this technology believe that agrivoltaic can help sustain agricultural activity. Angelo Gentili, the national secretary of Italy's environmental organization Legambiente, believes that the pressure of extreme heat and erratic rainfall has led some farmers to abandon their land. From his point of view, the income from clean electricity production can help maintain the economic activity of farms.

But not all agricultural sector activists agree with this view. Fabrizio Garbarino, president of the Italian Rural Agricultural Association, believes that agrivoltaic alone cannot solve the structural problems of farmers. According to him, factors such as production costs, unfavorable economic conditions and weak government support require direct solutions.

Critics also warn that the development of these projects may intensify competition for land. Some large companies, including data center developers, need more electricity, and renewable power purchase agreements can provide part of their needs in terms of energy accounting. However, a power purchase agreement does not necessarily mean that the electricity produced at a given farm will be physically transferred directly to the facility of the same company.

From this point of view, the main question is not only the amount of clean electricity produced; Rather, it is whether the project helps sustain agriculture or turns land into a tool to meet the growing demand of large industries.

Alarming statistics about the distribution of funds for solar agricultural projects

One of the most important challenges of this technology is how to distribute economic benefits. A 2025 study conducted in collaboration with Silvia Tomasi and based on interviews with experts in four European regions found that the benefits of agrivoltaic projects may go more to landowners, large investors and project developers than to small farmers and local communities.

This research also emphasized the importance of participation of local residents and attention to ecosystems in the decision-making process. If these groups are excluded from decision-making, the possibility of intensifying inequality in power and income distribution will increase.

A study published in 2025 in the Italian media Today.it also showed that about 86 percent of the nearly 775 million euros of government funds examined for solar agriculture projects were allocated to large projects; including projects some of which belonged to foreign multinational companies.

This statistic raises an important question: if the goal of solar agriculture development is to support farmers and protect agricultural land, why is a major part of the financial resources allocated to large projects?

The high initial cost of equipment and long queues to obtain a permit to connect to the power grid can also benefit companies that have more capital and financial power. On the other hand, small farmers may face limitations in financing the installation of panels and going through administrative procedures.

In such a situation, even a project that is technically and environmentally successful may lead to an unequal distribution of benefits from a social point of view.

How to make solar farming a sustainable solution?

Experts believe that for the success of agrivoltaic, policymaking should move away from focusing only on electricity production capacity and prioritize the protection of agricultural land. Financial support to farmers, facilitating the access of agricultural projects to the electricity grid and setting clear criteria to maintain crop production can help to achieve this goal.

It is also necessary to check the effect of panels on soil, water consumption, product performance and biodiversity before implementing each project. The proper design should be in harmony with the climatic conditions and the type of cultivation and provide the possibility of continuing the agricultural activity in the long term.