In Ohio, solar is no big threat to farmland

A new map from the Solar Energy Industries Association shows that solar panels cover less than one-seventh of 1% of Ohio's prime farmland, even though farmland loss is one of the most common arguments used to block large-scale solar projects in the state. Of Ohio's 37 square miles of solar generation area, about 31 square miles overlap with prime farmland. By comparison, golf courses take up more than 2.7 times that acreage, and suburban sprawl from 2014 through 2024 consumed more than five times as much farmland.

Ohio law already lets counties ban or add hurdles to solar and wind projects, and several counties, including Richland County, have used this power to restrict them, often citing a desire to preserve farmland. This pattern isn't unique to Ohio: officials in other states have passed similar restrictions, and federal agriculture officials have also pushed back against solar on farmland. Advocates note that Ohio farmers already use a large share of active farmland to grow corn for ethanol, which requires roughly 30 times more land per unit of energy than solar, according to a 2025 study.

None of this changes rules for homeowners directly, but it matters if solar development is a local issue where you live, since decisions about zoning and land use happen at the county or township level. Some projects are experimenting with combining solar and farming, such as sheep grazing under panels or growing crops alongside them, suggesting the two uses don't have to be mutually exclusive.