Large-scale solar (LSS) development is expanding across rural America, creating new opportunities for clean energy while raising important questions about farmland ownership and local economic benefits. Understanding who owns the land beneath solar projects—and whether those benefits remain in host communities—is increasingly important for policymakers, local leaders, and residents.

The University of Michigan and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory partnered to examine rural land ownership patterns associated with large-scale solar development. The project combined parcel-level data from eight counties in eight states with interviews of farmers and landowners to examine who owns solar land, how it compares to surrounding agricultural land, and what those patterns mean for rural communities.

Researchers analyzed more than 223,000 rural parcels, including 153 parcels hosting 84 large-scale solar projects. Overall, solar parcels were more likely than surrounding rural land to be owned by out-of-state entities and energy companies, although ownership patterns varied widely across communities. In some places, local landowners retained ownership of land leased for solar development. In others, ownership shifted to absentee corporate owners.

This work is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation and was completed in collaboration with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.