Photo of solar array courtesy of Delaware Electric
Photo of solar array courtesy of Delaware Electric
A trade group’s mapping study reports that solar operations occupy only a tiny portion of Delaware’s land area.
The study from the Solar Industries Association runs counter to arguments that solar farms threaten productive farmland in Delaware and elsewhere
That claim contributed to Kent County's decision to impose zoning restrictions. Similar concerns have been raised in Sussex County, which is losing farmland to residential development.
Some farmers have raised concerns over pending solar projects, while others are adding solar to cut their energy bills. Larger arrays feed electricity into the grid in a state that produces only a small percentage of its own power.
Solar projects face zoning, permitting, and financing issues that prevent many proposals from coming to fruition. Grid operator PJM has been criticized for moving too slowly to approve projects and has made changes aimed at fast-tracking “shovel-ready” proposals.
The Trump administration has been unhappy with large-scale solar projects, citing the loss of farmland, affordability and other claims.
According to a release, the association’s mapping tool comes “amid Farm Bill negotiations in Congress and growing misinformation and targeted scrutiny of solar development and agricultural land use.”
The Trump Administration has opposed solar and wind power by arguing that renewables occupy too much farmland. After unfavorable court decisions, the administration abandoned a freeze on solar and wind projects.
The association noted that farmland with solar arrays can support dual use by serving as pastureland or pollinator habitats. It also noted that abandoned farmland could accommodate solar farms.
Farmers are choosing solar as a long-term revenue source that keeps their properties in business, the group argues.
“America depends on our land to grow our food, build our communities, and power our lives,” said SEIA’s new CEO Tim Pawlenty. “Responsible land use means balancing all of those needs. This map helps provide important context by showing that solar and agriculture can thrive together. Solar development uses a very small amount of farmland compared to many other common land uses, while also delivering affordable energy, local tax revenue, and reliable income for farmers and landowners.”
Pawlenty is a former Republican governor of Minnesota.
Despite its compact size and the large percentage of its land devoted to agriculture, Solar farms occupy less than one-tenth of one percent of farmland in Delaware.
In Delaware and all other states, solar uses only 0.5% of prime farmland.
Delaware stats
Total land – 1,942.8 square miles.
USDA prime farmland in the state – 1,127.0 square miles or 58% of the total land.
Total solar area – 0.9 sq mi, 0.7 square miles (0.06%) overlap with prime farmland
Total Golf Course Area – 12.1 square miles. Golf courses use 11.7 times more prime farmland than utility-scale solar.
2014–2024 Suburban Sprawl 34.2 square miles.
The interactive map is available here.
Your comment has been submitted.
Reported
There was a problem reporting this.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.
View previous campaigns
Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.
We recommend switching to one of the following browsers:
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Account processing issue – the email address may already exist
Must be at least 8 characters, not contain repeating characters (e.g., 111), and not contain sequential numbers (e.g., 123).
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Invalid password or account does not exist
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Must be at least 8 characters, not contain repeating characters (e.g., 111), and not contain sequential numbers (e.g., 123).
Secure transaction. Secure transaction. Cancel anytime.
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
A receipt was sent to your email.
