Installing Solar Panels On Land

For example for a 1 mw solar power plant installation the solar farm land requirements would be around 4 acres when using a crystalline technology.

Installing solar panels on land.

They don t require drilling into your roof and the bracings used in standard ground mount systems are lightweight and easy to remove. But when you place a solar array on the ground you have to build a sturdy roof like structure to hold the panels in place. This process involves getting your soil surveyed to make sure it can hold the system firmly in place digging large holes and paying extra for parts to build a suitable foundation for the panels. A solar panel installation is a relatively low value use for land.

In addition solar can provide several benefits to agricultural land managers that may offset capital costs of installing solar. Solar can be installed with zero upfront capital cost through leasing. Ground mount solar arrays are typically installed in mostly flat open fields especially on utility scale projects. Solar can be installed on marginal agriculture lands and provide a different source of revenue for the farm.

Solar sites in the northeast mountain states or hilly regions can undergo civil engineering to make level ground for mounting. In other terms we can say that for each 1 kw of solar panels you need 100 sqft of an area on average. When we use thin film technology a 1mw plant will require an average of 4 5 to 5 acres of land. If a property is suitable for ranching or farming the property owner can probably earn more money renting the land out for these uses.

If you opt for a pole mount they will usually be installed more securely. To be cost effective a solar panel installation needs a large parcel of contiguous land according to the university of arizona. Certain solar markets like florida have naturally level land which makes installs simpler but flat terrain isn t always an option.