Renewables in Virginia: Clean Energy Is Compatible With Common Sense Land Use

This is the second installment of a three-part series looking into the state of renewable energy in Virginia. Last week, Powered By Facts took a look at recent laws the General Assembly has passed that prepare the state for a transition to a clean energy grid. This week, we’re going over the various ways renewable energy generators can be sited without having negative land use impacts. Stay tuned for next week’s post, which will explore renewable energy policy Virginia’s General Assembly should consider in future sessions.

Land use is bound to be a topic of discussion during conversations about Virginia’s transition to a renewable energy grid. For each megawatt of solar energy, for example, at least five to 10 acres are needed in order to develop solar power systems. With the Virginia Clean Economy Act requiring that 16,100 MW of land-based renewables be developed, it’s safe to assume that Virginia will need at least 161,000 acres of land to develop renewable energy generators.

With a total area of over 27 million acres, the land Virginia needs to develop for clean energy generation will take up less than 1% of the state. Still, this amount of space has prompted land use debates and concerns among some that the development of renewable energy in Virginia will hinder land conservation efforts or contribute to the shrinking size of the state’s farmland. 

Contrary to those concerns, however, the data shows that neither conserved land nor farmland is at risk of destruction if smart development of renewable energy generators is used. Virginia is home to plenty of locations that actually stand to benefit from the siting of renewables, and in many cases the development of solar power systems can actually serve to preserve farmland. 

Whereas many wind turbines are located off the coast or in western regions of the state with high average wind speeds, solar panels in particular are quite versatile when it comes to siting. Rooftops, which oftentimes are unobstructed by foliage and enjoy hours of exposure to the sun each day, make for an excellent place to place solar panels. According to a report released in 2016 by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Virginia has the potential to utilize 205 million square meters of rooftop space for solar energy generation. Altogether, that space could be used to generate 32% of the electricity used by the state in 2013.

Clearly, rooftop solar has the potential to power much of the state without running the risk of infringing upon land that’s better off being conserved. But roofs aren’t the only place solar is practical. In many cases, the introduction of solar panels on farms can make a lot of sense. The practice of colocating crops and solar panels, which is known as agrivoltaics, can actually lead to higher crop yields and reduced water usage on farms. Furthermore, a farmer who has been having trouble living off of crops alone may want to consider temporarily installing solar panels; doing so can bring in revenue while the land lies fallow, restoring the health of the soil so that the farm can return to growing crops later down the line. 

Solar panels can also be installed on brownfields. Brownfields are land that contains hazardous pollutants or contaminants. This type of land is generally unfit for other types of development, but when solar panels are installed on brownfields and native vegetation is planted, the panels and the vegetation work together to improve the health of soil. So not only can solar panels be placed on land that is currently going to waste, but they also help to bring the land back to life. 

Rooftops, farms, and brownfields are three good siting options for renewable energy generators, but they’re not the only ones. With Virginia phasing out coal mining in favor of cleaner energy sources, some have pointed to abandoned mines as a location to site generators that likely wouldn’t come with land use disagreements. Landfills that have reached capacity provide another safe option. The NREL has even conducted research showing that man-made bodies of water could be a suitable place to generate clean energy; in fact, floating solar panels could reduce evaporation levels in bodies of water and encourage algae growth. 

There are many good reasons to be concerned about land conservation and farmland preservation. However, to claim that the renewable energy siting contributes to loss of valuable land or farmland is misguided. Renewable energy generators can be sited in a way that helps to strengthen the quality of land, and colocating renewable energy generators on land currently being used prevents land use issues from arising. When done the right way, renewable energy siting can have a minimal negative impact on Virginian land.