This land could feed 4.3 million people a year

It is reported that as of 2024, more than 1,300 square kilometers of arable land around the world was covered with solar panels.

Such an area could annually provide for the cultivation of food containing four trillion kilocalories.

This is according to a study in the journal Research Square.

A team of scientists led by Xiao Wu from Zhejiang University, China, investigated the link between solar panels and the global food supply.

Using satellite imagery, they found that 27% of all solar panels were installed on land designated for growing crops.

The food that could be grown in this area could feed 4.3 million people for a year.

The researchers estimated that if the trend of installing solar panels on cropland continues, the loss in food production could increase nearly 16-fold by 2050.

However, Xiao Wu and his colleagues suggest that the threat to food may be exaggerated.

For example, they did not take into account that some of the panels are located on land with grass.

Grazing sheep near the solar panels proved to be an effective method of raising livestock and a source of calories.

The researchers also failed to take into account the increased productivity of farmland and the possible creation of smaller panel areas than today.

Farmers don’t see a threat from solar panels either.

According to Martin Fryley of the British organization Nature Friendly Farming Network, 62% of grain produced in the UK is used to feed livestock.

Video. Solar Panels Plus Farming? Agrivoltaics Explained.