ENERGY
Solar Energy Industries Association mapped land use to combat what it calls ‘misinformation’ about solar development on prime farmland
Solar farms occupy 26.4 square miles of New Mexico — less than 1% of the state’s total land area. Golf courses, by comparison, take up 23.4 square miles.
Those figures come from a new interactive map released this month by the Solar Energy Industries Association. 
The Washington, D.C., solar trade group released the map as Congress fights over the latest version of the Farm Bill, which passed the U.S. House in April. A version awaiting Senate approval proposes studying the effects of solar panel installations on farmland and limiting U.S. Department of Agriculture funding for ground-mounted solar energy systems. 
SEIA says it released the interactive map to combat what it calls “misinformation” about solar development on prime farmland. The map shows that New Mexico solar farms account for less than 0.01% of the 3,333 square miles of prime USDA farmland. 
“America depends on our land to grow our food, build our communities and power our lives,” SEIA President and CEO Tim Pawlenty said in a statement. “Responsible land use means balancing all of those needs. … 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.” 
The map underscores a widening divide: the Trump administration pulling back on federal renewable energy subsidies while states like New Mexico continue to double down on their own mandates.
In New Mexico, wind power accounts for 45% of total electric generation capacity. Recently, the largest wind farm in the U.S., SunZia, went online — with hundreds of turbines spanning rural areas in three different counties in New Mexico. 
But as the state’s electric utilities comply with a 2019 law mandating they transition to renewable energy, most of the new additions to the state’s power grid will be solar power, which currently accounts for nearly 20% of the state’s electric generating capacity. 
As of the end of 2025, New Mexico had 779 megawatts of solar power capacity, with a pipeline of 4.2 gigawatts of solar power construction projects slated for the next five years, according to an SEIA factsheet. 
Justin Horwath covers tech and energy for the Journal. You can reach him at jhorwath@abqjournal.com. 
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Solar Energy Industries Association mapped land use to combat what it calls ‘misinformation’ about solar development on prime farmland
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