Professor sorts myths about the long-term meaning of solar farms

The Maryland Department of Environmental Affairs is promoting that by 2030, 50% of the state’s electricity generation will come from renewable energy resources such as solar.

The Maryland solar project includes utility-scale solar. This is large scale and generates power directly into the grid. Community Solar is a small-scale system that can power your neighborhood. And residential solar, a panel placed in individual homes, mainly for the needs of one family.

Elizabeth Tillmany, an undergraduate expert on agricultural law at the University of Maryland, found in her research that 1,965 acres of the state’s land was used in utility-scale solar. This is a total of 19 projects as of May 2024. Of those acres, 1,757 were previously farmland.

“The volume of utility-scale solar projects is increasing. [Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity] “Ten years ago, we were watching some trickles, and now we’re at least 15 or 20 people being seen.”

Community solar projects are also rising. Since June 30, 2024, 139 have been constructed and in operation when state law established the Community Solar Pilot Program, according to latest data from the Maryland Public Service Commission.

Gov. Wes Moore signed the bill in May, aimed at promoting more community solar projects. The law prevents local governments from adopting zoning laws that restrict the construction or operation of solar energy projects if they meet all required standards.

Under the law, local jurisdictions are also required to facilitate review and approval of these projects. Many viewed this as a response to Carroll County officials’ ban on the 2023 solar project built on farmland.

As Maryland seeks more sunlight, some worry about the unknown long-term meaning of this green energy.

Paul Goringer, a leading faculty expert focused on the University of Maryland’s agricultural law, said the state’s research into solar remains very new.

“I don’t know what the exact impact is yet,” Goeringer said. “We didn’t have the resources to pull that apart.”

His team is working on researching where and how solar projects emerge statewide. The work focuses on leasing resources for landowners and ways to enhance knowledge about land options.

The project mapped by Thilmany is largely centered around the East Coast as the land is flat and there is more consistent sunlight and businesses need to clean up less wood. Only 12 counties have utility-scale solar projects.

“There’s an inverse relationship between communities and utilities,” Tilmany said. ” [In] Counties that don’t have access to land that is so widespread, will see more communities. ”

The meaning of solar is still unknown, but misconceptions about the industry continue to rise rapidly. Especially in the community solar project, where thousands of panels are placed inside, sometimes next to residential areas. Farmlands tend to be major targets for solar projects, resulting in panic in agricultural-dependent communities.

Through focus groups and research, researchers are trying to answer questions about the growth industry of solar energy. According to experts, here are some of the biggest misconceptions.

Solar panels release chemicals into the soil

Research shows that the material in the solar panels is sealed to prevent the metals inside from damaging the soil. Mitchell Pavao Zuckerman, an associate professor of urban ecosystems at the University of Maryland and an associate professor of sustainably built environments, said there was no “metal leaching” that contaminates the soil.

Despite some concerns that freak storms and hail could destroy metal giants and release harmful chemicals, Pabao Zuckerman said there was nothing to release.

“They don’t have a lot of metals like a kind of free floating. It’s not like a thermometer full of mercury,” he said.

Even panels made 10 to 15 years ago were designed to prevent chemicals from being released into the ground, he said. The only way to build a panel is to reach the metal if the panel breaks and erodes over time. If the panel breaks, there is no liquid metal “waiting to leave.”

Chemicals from solar panels are released into groundwater

The materials used in solar panels are sealed, limiting possible water pollution. Pavao Zuckerman said it’s comparable to water hitting a rooftop. The water is not contaminated. There is no place to penetrate or absorb. As long as the panels are not broken, there is no strong risk of groundwater or drinking water contamination.

Panels can affect the way water moves through the site. Spillage from the panels can pool water that is different from standard rainfall patterns. This could have an indirect effect on the productivity of plants under the panel, Pavao-Zuckerman said. Stacking soil water can slightly reduce the carbon stored in the ground.

“It’s almost like a shift. It’s so much more in places where water collides and there’s no water,” Pavao Zuckerman said.

He added that saturation of runoff requires the same stormwater management practices that are found in more urban areas. Early researchers said it would have a major impact on soil health and quality, but it is an open area for research.

The solar panel heats the ground

One of Pavao Zuckerman’s first studies in Arizona tried to answer whether industrial solar parks would raise the temperatures of residential areas.

This study found that the less impact the temperature sensor is obtained from the panel concentration. Within the panel space, temperatures were periodically higher than 3-4 degrees Celsius.

“It’s like the urban heat island effect produced by those panels,” Pabao Zuckerman said. “It was in the desert system. We don’t necessarily know what to do here. The energy is a little different.”

Agrivoltaics was introduced as a way to reduce this heating effect. The presence of plants cools the environment around the panel. Maintaining habitat for grasses and pollinators, like flower meadows, could produce enough water to reduce fever islands, he said.

This remains an open research question, he added.

After solar panels are removed, farmland cannot be used for agricultural farming

The technology used in solar projects is not invasive enough to affect the soil, Pavao-Zuckerman said, but said it could have long-term effects on the microenvironment.

Tyler Huff, director of government relations at the Maryland Farm Bureau, believes that once the major and productive soil is removed, it is “not a resource we can regain.”

“These soils are gone when they’re gone,” Huff said. “We can’t get them back, and we haven’t seen solar arrays and solar leases come full-on yet.”

The way solar panels are placed can lead to increased or reduced rainfall in some areas, potentially reducing organic matter in the soil, Pavao-Zuckerman said. Changes in water patterns created by solar panels can lead to erosion and gully, or rabin, caused by water.

Research into this is only just beginning, Pavao Zuckerman said.

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