- How will solar energy affect my property value?
- Why not just put solar on roofs and parking lots instead of on agricultural land?
- Is solar dangerous for animals?
- Will solar affect my health?
- How noisy is solar?
- What happens to solar at the end of its lifespan?
How will solar energy affect my property value?
According to a 2023 peer-reviewed study that looked at 1.8 million home transactions over six different states, only rural homes within ½ - 1 mile of a large-scale solar array built on agricultural land will see a roughly 1.5% decline in property value. Beyond 1 mile, there was no statistically significant change to the value of any properties that were evaluated.
Why not just put solar on roofs and parking lots instead of on agricultural land?
Rooftop solar is certainly beneficial to the homeowner, local communities and the environment. Homeowners will see the benefit when that energy is used for their home or business, because it is “behind the meter.” This means that the owner of the rooftop solar is producing their own power, reducing the amount of energy they need from their utility as well as lowering their bill. Additionally, in the event of a tornado or ice storm that knocks out power lines, the site can continue to produce power from its panels, providing a level of security and peace of mind. Rooftop solar can also have a positive community-wide impact when strategically used on rural hospitals, schools, and other buildings that would benefit most from low energy costs and need to operate regardless of weather conditions because of the services they provide.
Compare that to utilities, where the goal of solar is to maximize energy production. Each unit of electricity generated via solar is one that the utility does not need to produce from another source, reducing pollution and saving costs on fuel like coal or gas, which can be burned at some later point when the solar is no longer generating electricity. Maximizing the production from a panel can be achieved by having the panel face the sun as directly as possible.
To do this there are two main technologies, single and dual axis trackers. A single axis tracker works by rotating along a single line. In the morning, all the panels are tilted facing east. When the sun rises, the panels' rotation follows its movement, facing completely west as the sun sets before resetting for the next day. Dual axis trackers do the same, but add another direction of rotation that lets the panels tilt further north or south as seasons change and the sun's position in the sky shifts. This improves the angle at which sunlight hits the panels, allowing it to capture even more energy throughout the year.
Compared to rooftop solar, single axis trackers improve electricity generation by about 30% and are especially useful because, by facing the sun immediately after sunrise and until sunset, they maximize the amount of time the panels are producing electricity during the day. Dual axis trackers generate roughly 10% more energy than single axis trackers. Both have their uses, but the industry standard is the single axis tracker because it gets a much larger generation boost relative to the cost and is easier to maintain.
Overall, whether you are a private citizen or a utility paying for solar panels, you want to get as much power as possible for a given cost. For a person putting them on their home, business, or farm, this usually means that a fixed or rooftop installation makes the most sense since they are ‘set and forget’ systems that require minimal maintenance once set up. Meanwhile, a utility wants to maximize its solar production because it is usually the cheapest type of power. Consequently, having thousands of panels on trackers allows for significant energy production on sunny days. These are easiest to build in large fields with little shading from hills, trees, or buildings, hence their appeal in Nebraska. Trackers also add a significant amount of weight to solar panels, which typically excludes them from being placed on rooftops.
Is solar dangerous for animals?
Solar is very safe for animals. In fact, animals like cattle and goats are much more likely to damage the solar panels than the other way around. The only situation in which a livestock animal might be injured is if they are grazing and begin to chew on wiring. However, this can be easily avoided by fencing off the area and/or including protective covering for any exposed wires.
In fact, solar can create new industries like “solar grazing”, which allows for ranchers to bring in livestock to graze the land around the array. This provides the double benefit of reducing the amount of soil compaction and increasing the organic matter content of the soil.
Will solar affect my health?
Currently, there are no peer-reviewed studies that indicate any relationship between proximity to solar panels and negative health outcomes. Solar panels are made out of non-toxic materials like tempered glass, aluminum frames, and common plastics. The photovoltaic cells (which capture the solar energy) are primarily made of silicon, the same material used for computer chips. While some solar panels do contain trace amounts of potentially hazardous materials like lead and cadmium, these are physically and chemically bonded to components within the panel and pose very little chance of being exposed to anyone near the panels. Additionally, these types of panels are being phased out and are not generally used in solar projects being developed today.
Even in worst-case scenarios such as disposal in non-sanitary landfills, the risk of harmful substances leaching into the environment is minimal and remains well below regulatory thresholds for human health. In fact, replacing fossil fuels with solar generation is likely to reduce negative health outcomes as fossil fuel byproducts such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, and particulate matter (which can cause various cancers, birth defects, and more) are reduced.
How noisy is solar?
While a solar array’s panels make no noise, there are several other components that do produce differing levels of noise based on the temperature at the time. The primary noise producers are the inverters, which are required for connecting solar to power grids and contain cooling fans which will become louder as they work to cool off the internal components.
Typically, someone standing next to an inverter will experience noise anywhere from 35 dB (a suburban neighborhood at night) to 65 dB (a conversation at normal volume). This level of noise is based on measurements right next to the inverter and will drop off quickly as you move further away.
According to the “6 decibel” rule, every time you double your distance (measured in meters) from the source of noise, the sound levels are reduced by roughly 6 decibels (dBs). Decibels are also measured logarithmically, meaning a reduction of 10dBs is the equivalent of half of the noise, so the 6 decibel rule indicates a very steep drop off in noise level as you get further away from the inverter. One way to increase distance without restricting the size of the solar array is by placing the inverters closer to the center of the array, thus increasing the distance from neighboring property lines. You can also reduce noise by using smaller and quieter microinverters, and/or ensuring that the array is regularly maintained. The video below provides an audio recording of a properly functioning solar array.
What happens to solar at the end of its lifespan?
Currently, as it is with wind regulations, the developer is on the hook for decommissioning the solar array. Typically, solar is extremely easy to remove at the end of its 30-40 year lifespan. Assuming that the developer doesn’t renew the land lease, crews will come in to take the various parts of the solar array out including panels, wiring, and racks. Unlike wind turbines, solar panels typically only require metal beams driven into the soil for support, so there will be no leftover concrete slabs upon removal of solar. Decommissioning also often involves decompacting soil and removing access roads if necessary. Individual counties may have more specific requirements for decommissioning solar. To see what generally goes into assembling a solar array, watch the video below.
