Scientists Find Local Approach Needed to Understand Attitudes and Policies Around Solar Energy on Farms
Image Credit: AgriSolar Clearninghouse
A new study from the University of Maryland provides the first clear picture of attitudes and barriers to agrivoltaics—the dual use of land for farming and solar energy—in Montgomery County, Maryland. The results reveal how local environmental, political, and social factors influence acceptance and adoption of solar energy in the region’s agricultural sector.
The study, which was published in the journal Energy Policy on January 13, 2026, is significant because it provides evidence for regionally influenced social differences and creates a benchmark for future research to improve solar adoption in other locales across the country.
“At this time, there are very few local or regional agrivoltaics social science studies for U.S. decisionmakers to draw from,” said Mitchell Pavao-Zuckerman, an associate professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Technology at UMD and co-author of the study. “Most studies focus broadly on the U.S. as a whole, but our study describes the knowledge, attitudes, and practices that shape agrivoltaics in the Mid-Atlantic, and establishes how agrivoltaics is interpreted in the region.”
