“Enough is enough, we like our farms”: The role of landscape ideology in shaping perceptions of solar energy and agrivoltaics in the rural American Southwest

Abstract

As efforts to develop solar energy increase across the US, so does local opposition in rural communities where residents view solar energy as incompatible with local landscapes and identities. Recognizing the growing public opposition to solar energy resulting from landscape conflicts, many scholars have recommended the adoption of agrivoltaics. This co-utilization practice allows for agricultural and solar energy production to take place on the same plot of land as a solution to improve public support for solar energy development. This study uses landscape ideologies of the Western United States to examine how solar energy fits into changing Western landscapes and investigates whether agrivoltaics can be used as a tool to better align solar energy development with local landscapes. The study focuses on Pinal County, Arizona, a historically rural agricultural community simultaneously experiencing exurbanization, a decline in agricultural production, and an increase in proposed utility-scale solar energy projects. Using semi-structured interviews with farmers, government officials, and local business interests in combination with participant observation of local meetings about solar energy development, we find that a divergence in landscape ideologies between farmers and government officials in Pinal County significantly shapes opposition to solar energy. Agrivoltaics is perceived positively by government officials as a solution to public opposition toward solar energy development, however, farmers’ insufficient knowledge about agrivoltaics and a lack of current interest by solar developers to engage in agrivoltaic practices present critical barriers to the use of agrivoltaics as a land-use solution in Pinal County. We conclude with recommendations for increasing farmer participation in agrivoltaic policy and project development.