I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw a headline in a rival platform’s energy newsletter on Friday. I almost spilled my coffee! It read, “Solar power makes little use of farmland: According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, U.S. farmland occupies less than 1% of solar power.”
It made me think, as former President Bill Clinton famously said, it depends on what you mean by “a lot.” Curious about the specifics, I dove into some publicly available information, including data from folks in the solar industry. The findings might raise some eyebrows at the Solar Energy Industries Association. Or maybe not; after all, that could explain the somewhat misleading presentation of their data.
So here’s a key question: How much is 1% of U.S. farmland?
The straightforward answer is roughly 8.74 million acres, based on 2025 estimates totaling about 874 million acres, according to the USDA.
The latest USDA figures indicate that total farmland in 2025 is around 873.95 million acres, slightly less than 2024 figures. Years ago, it was higher—about 900 million acres in 2017—but we’re seeing a gradual decline. One percent of 873.95 million acres equals approximately 8.74 million acres.
When we refer to agricultural land here, we mean “farmland,” as defined by the USDA, which includes not just farmland but also pasture and forest. While definitions might vary slightly, the roughly 874 million-acre benchmark is what official USDA reports usually cite.
For some context, consider the King Ranch in South Texas. It’s a historical giant in American farming and ranching. Founded in 1854, at its zenith, it spanned around 1.2 million acres under the stewardship of Richard King.
Interestingly, the solar power industry itself recognizes that its wind arrays occupy fertile farmland equivalent to about eight times the size of the King Ranch. That’s a pretty remarkable figure, yet the newsletter authors deem it as “not that much.”
As someone raised in a farming family, that seems significant to me. It’s also concerning because experts conducting original research have shown that solar installations can deplete the soil of essential nutrients, making it more vulnerable to erosion. If things don’t change soon, the industry is set to convert even more of this vital land into solar arrays.
A recent report noted that most new solar projects are aiming for agricultural land as a base, which raises some eyebrows. They observed, “Solar projects are increasingly targeting the Midwest, where subsidies enable them to outbid farmers for land.” Conservation groups believe that 83% of new solar setups will come from farms and ranches, with half being on the most fertile land.
On the bright side, the substantial federal subsidies that fueled solar growth are about to expire in July. But with numerous solar projects already in the pipeline, millions of additional acres of farmland could still be impacted, even amid ongoing fertilizer shortages that could affect food supply chains. This is concerning when we consider that these solar installations provide inconsistent electricity for just a few hours daily, which could be better supplied by more reliable energy sources not targeting farmland.
It seems like a misallocation of significant financial resources, driven by the current administration’s policies. Honestly, it feels absurd, and it’s all unfolding right before our eyes.
