Farmers opt for solar power as new cash cow

Bolton said he thinks adopting solar power is a good business move for farmers, who are having a tough time with crop prices.

"It's a really great opportunity to turn some of their land into solar energy and get a guaranteed return on leases of 25 years. That sounds really good to someone who is potentially struggling right now," he said.

China manufactures 60 percent of the global supply of solar panels, according to the International Energy Agency. It is also the largest market for photovoltaic and solar thermal energy, but last year, US President Donald Trump slapped a 30 percent tariff on imported solar panels amid the trade war between the two countries.

In December, the US Congress approved a five-year, $867 billion bill to help farmers, retaining the $50 million annual funding for the Rural Energy for America Program.

REAP provides farmers with financial assistance to "purchase, install and construct renewable energy systems, make energy-efficiency improvements to nonresidential buildings and facilities, and use renewable technologies".

There is also a 30 percent federal income tax credit for solar investments.

But while the environmental benefits and income potential are undeniable, the move to incorporate more solar energy and panels on farms faces opposition from some quarters.

Rob Rhykerd, a soil scientist and chairman of agriculture at Illinois State University, said there are fears that solar panels could take the most vital, fertile land out of production, which could have dire consequences for crop output.

"We need to be very strategic about where we put these solar panels. So, let's put them on marginal land ... maybe land that we've taken out of production. That way, we're not competing with production," he said.

"I'm not opposed to farmers putting solar panels on their farms. I just want them to make sure they are making a really good, informed decision, as this is going to impact the land for years to come."

Opposition to solar farms has emerged in different states, including Washington, where Governor Jay Inslee had to step in over a dispute in Kittitas County and decide whether the state's first solar farm should be sited on cropland. He gave approval in October.

Farmers Jeff and Jackie Brunson, who own 405 hectares of land near Ellensburg, Washington, planned to lease more than 32 hectares to Tuosso Energy, a company in Seattle, to create a solar farm, but neighbors were upset that it would transform the land.

"They aren't happy … but we don't regret it one iota," Jackie Brunson told the Seattle Times newspaper.

Disputes have also raged in Oregon, where the State Land Board overturned Jackson County's approval of a solar project on 32 hectares of farmland.