That’s a really interesting article. I didn’t know there were so many benefits to solar panels over crops.
However, I don’t see how growing crops under panels could become widespread.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimate that if just 1 million acres of farmland was covered in solar panels, the nation would meet its renewable energy goals.
For reference, Iowa alone has over 35 million acres of farmland. Solar panels are almost too efficient to cover a meaningful amount of farmland.
This entire concept has been studied extensively in China, and the conclusion has been that the yield is vastly overclaimed when solar panels are deployed on productive soil.
Your claim is that… China has incentive to reduce deployments of solar panels by criticizing the deployment of solar panels over agricultural land? We’re talking about the same China, right? World leader in solar panel production, being criticized by American and European leaders for overcapacity in solar panel production? I just want to make sure we’re on the same page here.
Yes? And?
https://www.agritecture.com/blog/2022/2/3/largest-farm-to-grow-crops-under-solar-panels-proves-to-be-a-bumper-crop-for-agrivoltaic-land-use
That’s a really interesting article. I didn’t know there were so many benefits to solar panels over crops.
However, I don’t see how growing crops under panels could become widespread.
For reference, Iowa alone has over 35 million acres of farmland. Solar panels are almost too efficient to cover a meaningful amount of farmland.
Iowa, eh. You could plant some trees as windbreak to stop erosion. Wide enough apart to still drive harvesters through, dense enough to provide shade.
Food security
More food security
Less food
Food versus fuel
Worsening food insecurity
This entire concept has been studied extensively in China, and the conclusion has been that the yield is vastly overclaimed when solar panels are deployed on productive soil.
See: CCTV exposes 8 million RMB solar farm built on prime farmland, leads to plummeting rice yields
You’ll excuse me if I don’t believe a PRC source posted on lemmy.ml.
Lol, this is funny for now but it’s gonna become a real problem eventually.
Your claim is that… China has incentive to reduce deployments of solar panels by criticizing the deployment of solar panels over agricultural land? We’re talking about the same China, right? World leader in solar panel production, being criticized by American and European leaders for overcapacity in solar panel production? I just want to make sure we’re on the same page here.
My claim is that I don’t see any reason to believe a PRC news source.
Your claim is that a PRC news source wants people to deploy less solar panels.
No, my claim is a PRC news source is not trustworthy.
If you want to show me a source that discusses this issue from a media outlet that isn’t state-controlled, feel free to do so and I will read it.
I do not give my time to state-controlled media.
BBC? CBC? NPR? RFA? Al Jazeera?
What, exactly, do you think the incentive is for a PRC news source to discourage solar panel adoption?
Neither the BBC nor NPR are state-run media.
State-funded is not the same. You’re being dishonest.
As a matter of course I don’t trust things that China says.
What’s the incentive structure for which China would want people to deploy fewer solar panels?