A study by the University of Sheffield has found that installing solar panels on farmers’ land would not result in a loss of agricultural activity.
As part of its plan for the UK to reach net zero by 2050, the government aims to significantly ramp up the amount of solar power across the country.
However, the prospect of swathes of ground-mounted solar panels has proven contentious with both farmers and the public.
Chief among the criticisms is that high-quality agricultural land will have to give way to solar farms. Some also do not like the visual impact these farms have on the landscape.
A study by researchers at the University of Sheffield focuses on the impact of agrivoltaics in Great Britain. Agrivoltaics is the dual use of land for solar energy production and agriculture.
The study has found that the deployment of agrivoltaics – which would see solar panels installed in ways to allow for farming activities underneath or between panels – could enable the simultaneous production of...