Back
Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
An American farmer grows corn under solar panels and harvests about 80% of the yield compared with neighboring open rows. Despite the reduced yield, he considers this land-use arrangement profitable due to the lease payments for placing the panels.
This is written about by Autonoción .
An unusual agricultural project works in Massachusetts. Its idea is to use one plot of land simultaneously for growing crops and generating electricity.
Solar modules are installed above the ground at a height sufficient for tractor access. At the same time, there is space between them through which sunlight reaches the plants.
According to the data, 832 solar panels with a capacity of 535 W each were installed on the field. Their total nominal capacity is about 445 kW. The installation began in 2023 year.
The farm area mentioned in the material exceeds 161 hectares. However, it is not specified what portion of this area is occupied by the panels and the crops beneath them.
The most interesting result of the experiment was the corn yield. In the plots under the solar panels, the farmer received about 80% of the yield compared with the adjacent open rows.
Thus, the yield declined by about one-fifth, but the farmer does not regard this as a loss. He continues to sell the harvested corn and additionally earns money from using his land to generate electricity.
Moreover, the solar panels do not belong to the farmer. For placing them on the field he receives rent, and he also has the opportunity to charge agricultural equipment almost for free.
In his view, these advantages compensate for the reduced yield. At the same time the article does not provide the size of the rent, the costs of growing corn, or exact profit figures, so it is impossible to assess the economic outcome for other farms based on this example.
Similar projects are being tested in Europe as well. In Spain, solar panels have been installed in an olive grove, but a full harvest collection has not yet been conducted there.
In Germany, the equipment was placed over an apple orchard. Observations indicate that fruit ripening stretched over 10–12 days, but there are no precise data yet on changes in yield.
The shade from the panels can both protect plants from excessive sun and reduce the amount of light needed for growth. According to the University of Massachusetts, under studied conditions the solar panels shaded the plants by approximately 30–37%.
During observations of cranberries, scientists found that in the shade the intensity of photosynthesis decreased. Plants experienced less stress, but at the same time accumulated less sugars and other substances in the fruits.
However, these results cannot be directly transferred to corn. The article notes that separate measurements of shading effects on its photosynthesis were not conducted within the described farming project.
In the future, under solar panels there are also considerations to grow beans, strawberries, and asparagus. So far these are plans, not confirmed harvest results for these crops.
The Massachusetts farmer's experience shows that a decrease in yield does not necessarily mean a decrease in total land income if the farm receives additional rent. However, the suitability of this approach for other fields will depend on the crop, panel placement, lighting conditions, and the economics of the particular project.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Фермер встановив 832 сонячні панелі над кукурудзою: втратив 20% врожаю, але залишився у виграші". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Expert.
