04/30/2026
Solar on Existing Infrastructure or Wildland and Farmland?
What are your thoughts?
As we race toward a 100% clean energy future, the biggest debate isn’t whether to go solar -it’s where to put the panels. Huge solar farms on wild land or farmland can generate a lot of power, but they come with some very real trade-offs.
Our Solar Road Panels turn existing paved surfaces (roads, parking lots, sidewalks, driveways, playgrounds) into power-generating smart infrastructure - zero new land required.
Power often travels far from urban demand centers, and centralized farms are more exposed to outages or grid issues. Much of the energy from Solar Road Panels will be produced right where it’s used on parking lots, driveways, sidewalks etc. Solar Roadways can become a decentralized Smart Grid with national security benefits and making it easier for all renewable energy to enter the grid.
Solar arrays on both wild and farmland are vulnerable to extreme weather events. We posted here about an array that was destroyed recently by a tornado. Solar Road Panels are much more robust than traditional solar panels and we expect them to fare well during such events. We’re looking forward to doing formal hurricane/tornado testing.
Solar arrays on wildland displace wildlife habitats and harm flora and fauna. We are seeing more and more public comments from people who are strongly opposed to this use of our wildland. When Solar Roadways enters full production, that will create a better alternative to generating the power we need while simultaneously protecting wild spaces.
While we see the use of wildland for solar being soundly criticized by the public, the use of farmland for solar production seems to have a more mixed reactions. Some like the shading that some plants in very hot climates appreciate. Farmers are making money by leasing out their land for solar production. There is some research suggesting that plants grow better next to solar panels, and some animals can graze around them. But prime farmland being locked into energy production could be a problem when food demands spike.
The hexagonal shape of our Solar Road Panels makes it easy to create beautiful hardscapes and flow right into planting beds where plants can grow right next to our solar panels.
Solar Roadways technology is perfectly poised to create a third and better option for our ever-growing energy needs.
