Solar Power Meets Agriculture: UTIA’s Groundbreaking Study on Tennessee Farmland

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — As America zeroes in on the critical goal of decarbonizing its electric grid, a pioneering study from the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture (UTIA) couldn’t be more relevant. The comprehensive research dives deep into Tennessee’s existing and future land use strategies for large-scale solar energy production and explores the possible ripple effects on the state’s invaluable farmland.

The United States has been on a solar power surge in recent years, leaping from a mere 0.6% to an impressive 4.8% of the country’s total electricity generation. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Energy has ambitious forecasts, expecting solar energy to make up as much as 40% of the nation’s electrical supply by 2035. This explosive growth trajectory has driven UTIA researchers to delve into the land allocation requirements for Tennessee to facilitate the burgeoning solar landscape.

So, what did the research uncover? According to the study, Tennessee’s currently functioning and contracted utility-scale solar facilities will churn out an astonishing 1,474 megawatts of clean energy. To do this, these solar installations would claim between 8,197 to 14,743 acres, translating to just 0.056% of the state’s total land area or up to 0.137% of its agricultural lands. Interestingly, the western part of the Volunteer State is where the bulk of these solar facilities are situated.

But that’s not all—there’s another plot twist. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) recently declared their lofty aim of incorporating an extra 10 gigawatts of solar energy by 2035. This ambitious addition would necessitate an expansive 55,600 to 100,000 acres of land. If Tennessee were to solely host this new wave of solar installations, the added land use could amount to between 0.21% and 0.38% of the state’s overall land, or between 0.52% and 0.93% of its agricultural terrain. These estimates hinge on several variables, such as TVA’s headway toward its ambitious goal, the proportion of solar installations situated in Tennessee, and potential breakthroughs in technology that could economize land usage for energy generation.

Amid this solar boom, the study also casts a spotlight on the ongoing decline of Tennessee’s farmlands, largely devoured by urban and residential expansions. Between 1997 and 2017, farmland in the state plummeted from 11.99 million acres to 10.87 million acres, shedding approximately 1.11 million acres or about 9% of its farmland. The uptick in population is a significant driver of this loss, and it’s not slowing down. The American Farmland Trust forecasts that Tennessee will lose another 420,000 acres of agricultural land to urban and residential sprawl from 2016 through 2040. Alarmingly, this ranks Tennessee third among all U.S. states for the projected conversion of crucial agricultural land to urban and residential development by 2040.

The research doesn’t stop at statistics. It goes the extra mile to discuss essential considerations for agricultural communities in the wake of large-scale solar development. One such innovative solution is “agrivoltaics,” a fusion of agriculture and solar energy production. In specific scenarios, agrivoltaics could offer dual benefits, alleviating concerns about sidelining productive farmland.

The cross-disciplinary research team behind this illuminating study includes Karen DeLong, Olivia Murphy, David Hughes, and Chris Clark from UT’s Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, alongside Harry Crissy from Pennsylvania State University. For those eager to dig into the details, the complete research report is available for public access online.