In 2023, solar panels provided 6% of the world’s electricity, and BloombergNEF expects another 585 gigawatts of new solar capacity to be installed throughout 2024.It looks like there’s little that could dull solar’s shine (though the full effect of ramped-up US tariffs on Chinese panels remain to be seen.) Italy’s Premier Giorgia Meloni said that solar panels were a “threat to food sovereignty,” and the government has issued an emergency decree banning farmers from leasing their land to solar developers. A 2022 analysis by climate and energy publisher Carbon Brief found that ground-mounted solar panels covered less than 0.1% of land in the UK, requiring an average of 6 acres per megawatt of capacity. Speaking to the Financial Times, one Italian farmer described solar panels as “a gift from the heavens.” About 25% of designated farmland in Italy is lying fallow thanks to extreme heat, drought and rising costs. Placing solar panels on brownfield sites, car parks and roofs should also be made much easier.But pitching solar power against food and biodiversity may do more harm than good to the agricultural sector and ignores a whole host of benefits to both the planet and people.
