Solar panels are gaining popularity across U.S. fields. In fact, there are now three times as many farms with solar installations compared to 2012.
In 2012, a little more than 36,000 U.S. farms had them installed. By 20-17, that number had jumped to more than 90,000. In 2022, it shot up to nearly 120,000.
Successful Farming found some producers were being offered as much as $1,000 per acre to lease land for solar. While crops can net that much, the panels do not require any input costs like seed and fertilizer.
While there is concern about land being used for anything other than growing food, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says he is encouraging non-prime farmland to be used for these projects.
