In an update to a recent article –

Yes Virginia You Can Have Crops and Solar Panels Too

new research reinforces the notion that crops do better with solar panels used to help them from getting too hot.  Generating power while increasing the production of crops.

Solar panels handle heat better when they’re combined with crops

“Building solar panels at a specific height above crops can reduce surface temperatures by up to 10 °C, compared to traditional panels constructed over bare ground, they’ve found.”

Agrovoltaics

“The results, published in the journal Applied Energy, are the latest contribution to a growing body of research on agrivoltaics: a farming method that aims to maximize land use by pairing solar panels with cropland, thus minimizing competition between energy production and food. We already know that agrivoltaics can increase land-use efficiency, produce plenty of electricity on minimal land, and may also improve crop yields by shielding plants from heat and wind.”

Growing evidence that you do not have to choose between crops or solar energy production. Admittedly it may not be right for every circumstance, but it is another tool available to keep from losing prime farming real estate to energy.

There is no “silver bullet” to solving our water, energy, and agricultural problems. It will take a variety of applications and programs, working together to dig us out of our current hole.