NACo Annual Conference 2018

NREL/PR-7A40-71901

Megan Day, AICP

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Land Use Planning for Large-Scale Solar 
NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 

operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC. 

This work was authored by Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC, the Manager and Operator of the National 

Renewable Energy Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under a subcontract to The Solar 

Foundation for the SolSmart program. Funding for SolSmart is provided by the U.S. Department of Energy Office 

of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office. The views expressed herein do not 

necessarily represent the views of the DOE or the U.S. Government. The U.S. Government retains and the 

publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the U.S. Government retains a nonexclusive, 

paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this work, or allow others to 

do so, for U.S. Government purposes.

The data, results, conclusions, and interpretations presented in this document have not been reviewed by 

technical experts outside NREL or the Solar Energy Technologies Office.

THIS DOCUMENT WAS PREPARED AS AN ACCOUNT OF WORK SPONSORED BY AN AGENCY OF THE UNITED STATES 

GOVERNMENT. NEITHER THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT NOR ANY AGENCY THEREOF, NOR ANY OF THEIR 

EMPLOYEES, MAKES ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, OR ASSUMES ANY LEGAL LIABILITY OR 

RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR USEFULNESS OF ANY INFORMATION, APPARATUS, 

PRODUCT, OR PROCESS DISCLOSED, OR REPRESENTS THAT ITS USE WOULD NOT INFRINGE PRIVATELY OWNED 

RIGHTS. REFERENCE HEREIN TO ANY SPECIFIC COMMERCIAL PRODUCT, PROCESS, OR SERVICE BY TRADE NAME, 

TRADEMARK, MANUFACTURER, OR OTHERWISE DOES NOT NECESSARILY CONSTITUTE OR IMPLY ITS 

ENDORSEMENT, RECOMMENDATION, OR FAVORING BY THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT OR ANY AGENCY 

THEREOF. THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS OF AUTHORS EXPRESSED HEREIN DO NOT NECESSARILY STATE OR REFLECT 

THOSE OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT OR ANY AGENCY THEREOF.
Good plans enable good development

 Solar energy is an economically valuable local resource

 Valuable resources should benefit the owner and the community

 Local plans lay the policy foundation for development regulation and programs that 

enable capture of benefits, while minimizing risks

Solar Ready Communities Comprehensive Plans: 

 Identify and define solar resources

 Acknowledge solar development benefits and desired co-benefits

 Identify solar development opportunities and conflicts in the community

 Set development targets or goals

Land Use Planning for Large-Scale PV

Photo credit: Fresh Energy/Giving Tree

Source: 2017 Solar Jobs Census, Solar Foundation
Addressing Potential Conflicts

Acknowledge perceived nuisances and potential conflicts with 

other resources or development goals: 

 Agricultural practices

 Forested areas

 Historic resources

 Redevelopment and density

 Airports and other infrastructure

 Natural areas

Agricultural protection measures

can prevent:

 Loss of prime agricultural soils

 Loss of local productive capacity

 Fragmentation of land

 Secondary development impacts

 Nuisances impacting agricultural practices

Photo credit: juwi Americas
Large-Scale PV Economic Benefits

Source: 2017 Solar Jobs Census, Solar Foundation

Job creation 

New markets for local 

contractors

Diversity of income to 

land owners 

Local resources/Import 

substitution
Solar Ready Counties

Maricopa County, AZ (SolSmart Bronze)

Economic Growth Policy #10:

“Maricopa County supports 

leveraging its solar resource 

potential to attract solarrelated industries and 

alternative energy research 

and development.”
Large-Scale PV Natural Resource Benefits

With appropriate development guidance, largescale PV facilities can provide:

Water quality protection – Perennial ground cover that 

reduces runoff, soil conservation, vegetated wetland and 

waterway buffers

Habitat value – Pollinator ground cover, small mammals, birds, 

reptiles

Agricultural opportunities – Apiaries, grazing, high-value handpicked crops, pollinator benefits for nearby crops

Photo credit: Prairie Restorations
Photo: Great Plains Institute

Environment and Natural Resources

Goal 2. Assure the reasonable and 

responsible use of natural resources . . .

Objective 4. Encourage use of 

renewable energy systems, including 

wind energy and solar energy, which 

reduce the footprint of development on 

local and global natural systems. 

Goal 3. Protect agricultural natural resources.

Objective 1. Protect agricultural soils and 

other agricultural resources by regulating 

non-agricultural land uses in areas with 

agricultural soils.

Solar Ready Counties

Stearns County, MN (SolSmart Silver)

Photo: Great Plains Institute
Defining Large-Scale Solar

Solar Energy System: A device or structural design feature, a substantial purpose 

of which is to provide daylight for interior lighting or provide for the collection, 

storage, and distribution of solar energy for space heating or cooling, electricity 

generation, or water heating.

Solar Energy System, Large-Scale: Active Solar 

Energy System that occupies more than 40,000 

square feet of surface area. 

Solar Energy System, Medium-Scale: Active 

Solar Energy System that occupies more than 

1,750 but less than 40,000 square feet of 

surface area. 

Solar Energy System, Small-Scale: An Active 

Solar Energy System that occupies 1,750 square 

feet of surface area or less.

Further distinguish between rooftop and 

ground-mounted.
Solar Farms ≠ Industrial Land Use

Industrial zoning and land use characteristics:

Access to major transportation corridors, water, sewer = EXPENSIVE

Often urban, smaller parcels = EXPENSIVE, too small

Employment

Nuisances (noise, traffic, pollution)

Tonopah/Arlington Area Plan definition:

INDUSTRIAL: “major employment centers,” Uses permitted in this category 

include warehousing, storage, distribution activities, and manufacturing

Requiring change of land use/zoning for solar amounts

to spot zoning and “stranded” industrial zoned land

PV should not be restricted to Public Utilities zoning

PV farms ≠ traditional power plants. Do not need:

Massive amounts of water for cooling

On-site personnel

Fuel delivery via rail, road, or pipeline
Regulating Electrons

Adams County, Colorado 

4-03-03-02-10 SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM 

1. Property Served: The solar energy system shall be designed to only provide 

energy for the property upon which it is located. However, excess energy 

may be sold as permitted by state and federal law.

Prevents shared or community solar installations and primary use

Best 

Practice

Regulate 

impacts,

not use

One of 1,500 customer-sited PV 

systems owned by APS

Photo: Tom Tingle/The Republic 

http://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/consumer/2015/07/11/f

irst-aps-owned-rooftop-solar-installed-phoenix/30002989/
Special Development Sites (e.g. brownfields)

 Offer expedited review as long as project meets certain standards

 Provide exemptions from lot coverage/impervious surface 

requirements

Shaffer Landfill, Billerica, MA, Urban Green Technologies

https://www.high-profile.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Shaffer-Landfill_PV-aerial.jpg

SolSmart criteria: Encourage or incentivize solar PV 

development on parking lots, vacant lots, landfills, 

buffer lands, brownfields, airport safety zones, and 

non-building structures
Low-Impact Solar Development

NREL’s National Wind Technology 

Center’s solar installation where native 

grasses and revegetation techniques 

were tested. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy17osti/66218.pdf
Pollinator-Friendly Vegetation

Photo: Prairie Restorations, Inc. BoltonBees.com

State Policy

Minnesota standards for pollinator-friendly solar legislation – Statute 216B.1642

Maryland Department of Natural Resources – Solar Generation Facilities – Pollinator– Friendly Designation

South Carolina – Solar Habitat Act – Voluntary solar best-management practices to 

establish native vegetation and pollinator habitat

County Policy

Linn County, IA – Amended the Development Code to require solar farms be planted 

with native grasses and wildflowers and prohibits application of insecticides.

Stearns County, MN – Land Use and Zoning Ordinance requires solar farm ground 

cover meet above state statute
Potential Ag Benefits of PV Pollinator Habitat

Examining the Potential for Agricultural Benefits from Pollinator 

Habitat at Solar Facilities in the United States

Leroy J. Walston, Shruti K. Mishra, Heidi M. Hartmann, Ihor Hlohowskyj, James 

McCall, and Jordan Macknick

Environmental Science & Technology, 

https://pubs.acs.org/action/showCitFormats?doi=10.1021%2Facs.est.8b00020

Argonne National Laboratory identified 

over 3,500 km2 of agricultural land 

near existing and planned large-scale 

PV facilities that may benefit from 

insect pollinators. 
Potential Ag Benefits of PV Pollinator Habitat

Examining the Potential for Agricultural Benefits from Pollinator Habitat at Solar Facilities in the United States

Leroy J. Walston, Shruti K. Mishra, Heidi M. Hartmann, Ihor Hlohowskyj, James McCall, and Jordan Macknick

Environmental Science & Technology, https://pubs.acs.org/action/showCitFormats?doi=10.1021%2Facs.est.8b00020

Crop 

Insect 

Pollinator 

Dependence 

Rankb

Total Hectares of 

USSE Foraging 

Zones Planted, 

All States

States with Greatest Crop Area within USSE 

Foraging Zonesc

Almondsd 3 29,718 California (29,718 ha)

Cranberries 3 1,904 Massachusetts (1,885 ha), New Jersey (11 ha)

Melons 

(Cantaloupes, 

Honeydew, 

Watermelon)

4 1,287 California (1,013 ha), Maryland (106 ha), Arizona 

(61 ha), North Carolina (36 ha)

Apples 3 867 North Carolina (397 ha), Massachusetts (157 ha), 

New York (126 ha)

Blueberries 3 521 New Jersey (202 ha), Michigan (93 ha), North 

Carolina (77 ha), Georgia (44 ha)

Plums 3 477 California (473 ha), New York (2 ha)

Cherries 3 418 California (408 ha), Oregon (5 ha), Michigan (3 ha)

Pumpkins / Squash 

/ Gourds

4 351 New Jersey (115 ha), Massachusetts (106 ha), North 

Carolina (24 ha)

Peaches 3 189 California (53 ha), Georgia (40 ha), New Jersey (27 

ha), North Carolina (22 ha)

Cucumbers 3 100 North Carolina (35 ha), New Jersey (30 ha), 

Michigan (10 ha)

 

 

 

 

Possible agro-economic 

benefits of solar-pollinator 

habitat where there is overlap 

between solar development 

and high-value pollinatordependent crops, especially 

in areas where pollination is 

essential for production (e.g., 

>40% dependence on insect 

pollination).

Planting and maintenance of 

native pollinator-friendly 

vegetation at solar energy 

developments could offset 

local impacts to agricultural 

production through benefits 

provided by increased 

pollination services, insect 

pest management, and storm 

water and erosion control.

Summary of highly pollinator-dependent agriculture 

(where insect pollination is essential for production) within 

solar energy pollinator foraging zones (1.5 km)
Economic Value of PV Pollinator Habitat to Ag

Quantifying the Economic Value of Pollination 

to Improve Adoption of Solar Facilities in U.S. 

Agricultural Environments, Argonne National 

Laboratory 2018, publication pending

Estimated pollination benefits across the 

croplands of the United States

Integrating national-scale 

data on crops, pollinators, 

and solar facilities revealed 

an estimated value of 

pollination across the 

conterminous U.S. of $43 

billion.

If 10% to 50% of existing 

and planned solar facilities 

were used for pollinator 

habitat, they would produce 

$1.9 to 5.7 billion in 

pollination benefit annually. 
Economic Value of PV Pollinator Habitat to Ag

Intersection of Solar Facilities with Pollinator-Dependent Croplands, Argonne National Laboratory, 

2018, publication pending

Mapping of partner solar facilities

Eastwood Solar Facility (Minnesota)

5.5 MW

Eastwood Solar Facility

Estimated 2017 

soybean production 

within 1km

532 acres

(25,000 bushels)

Estimated 2017 

soybean production 

within 2 km

1,425 acres

(66,975 bushels)

Soybean production 

value

$9.15/bushel

Hypothetical 1% 

pollinator service 

increase benefit

$2,250 - $6,150
Sunflowers for oil production grown under panels in Wisconsin 

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2011

Solar Farms and Agriculture
Solar Farms and Agriculture

Sheep grazing is a common vegetation management practice in North http://www.theecologist.org/siteimage/scale/0/0/387348.jpg

Carolina

http://www.theecologist.org/siteimage/scale/0/0/387348.jpg
Proportion of Municipalities Referencing Clean 

Energy in Codes in Each State

Cook, et all. 2016. Clean Energy in City Codes: A Baseline Analysis of Municipal Codification across the 

U.S. NREL-66120. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (US). 

http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy17osti/66120.pdf
Thank you! Megan Day, AICP

Megan.day@nrel.gov

303-275-3261

SolSmart.org

Photo: Prairie Restorations, Inc.
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