Infographic turns the 'don't cover farmland with solar' argument upside down

A Reddit infographic is getting fresh attention by challenging the common anti-solar argument that farmland should not be covered with panels.

Commenters on it framed the issue not as a choice between growing food and generating electricity. Instead, they focused on land already used to raise corn solely for ethanol — as it is already used for energy purposes and not food — and asked how much more usable energy that same acreage could produce with solar.

What happened?

The post in r/solar collected more than 900 upvotes and hundreds of comments, as it compared solar over parking lots to ground-mount solar farms.

The infographic takes aim at the familiar complaint that solar farms consume valuable farmland or are inferior to solar over parking lots. It provides a compelling argument that farm setups are cheaper to build and maintain with easier construction and high efficiency when compared to parking lot setups — particularly if the land underneath is still used for farming that functions with some shade, such as sheep grazing.

Instead of comparing panels with crops grown for people to eat, posters then centered on fields used for corn ethanol and argued that solar on that land would produce far more energy — almost like comparing a candle to a modern LED flood light. 

"Technology [Connections] did an excellent video on this," one wrote. "Those solar farms produce more fuel than the ethanol from the corn produced in those fields."

Here is that video, and it gets into the topic in major depth. 

That distinction came up repeatedly in the discussion. Commenters said the comparison is about acreage already dedicated to fuel, not food, and some noted that grazing and certain agrivoltaic arrangements can allow agricultural use to continue alongside solar.

Why does it matter?

Myths about land use can slow clean energy projects that could lower power costs, reduce planet-warming pollution, and improve air quality.

If more electricity comes from solar instead of polluting fuels, households and cities could benefit from more stable energy prices and less harmful pollution linked to respiratory and heart problems.

Commenters also said developers often lease farmland instead of buying it, which can provide landowners with steady income while letting them keep ownership. Others pointed to rooftop solar as additional ways to avoid the farmland debate altogether.

What are people saying?

Many commenters added on to the OP's infographic with their own thoughts. 

Another commenter said the difference between solar farms and corn is enormous: "About 50 times more overall energy from solar yearly versus the same land for ethanol."

"Not only that, but there are so many uses for fields with panels on them that don't bother the panels-- like livestock grazing and plants!" a user said referencing agrivoltaics.

One user defended solar over parking, pointing to its efficiency while saying many of the technical challenges could be figured out with smart engineering.

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