Crops and solar panels may struggle to coexist according to a new environmental study done for the state.
A study by Cornell researchers aimed to determine the effect New York’s utility-scale solar farms have on crops. The solar panels cover roughly 9,300 acres of land in the state. Results from the first of a series of studies were published in the journal Environmental Research Food Systems and Cornell researchers found reductions in sunlight created by early morning and late afternoon shade stunted fall crops. Not only was sunlight reduced for the test crops, but so was leaf temperature the study found. That led to lower biomass. The change in biomass was especially pronounced in root crops like radishes as it resulted in a drop in below-ground production, because the plants allocated more resources to leaves that collect sunlight and exchange gases the study showed. As the state rushes toward electrification, more power production sources will be needed to support the increase in electric demand and solar is one of the clean energy sources the state is banking on.
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