Canary Media has an article about an almost unbelievable anti-solar conspiracy theory, although I guess there’s no conspiracy theory that people won’t run with any more. I says that farmers can’t grow potatoes on land where solar developments were sited because of “leaching” of something or other.
The whole article can be read here, if you want another reason to beat your head against the wall.
Nor is there any published evidence that solar farms have a negative impact on potato farming, according to experts consulted for this story. On the contrary, there is agrivoltaics research showing that potatoes — and many other crops — can benefit from growing alongside shade-making solar panels.
Nevertheless, this false claim about solar is gaining some traction. Like other forms of misinformation about renewables, it helps fuel local pushback to proposed energy installations.
