Is it okay to plant grass under the photovoltaic panels in the desert

Do PV panels reduce plant productivity in grasslands?

A previous study in the UK found that PV arrays in grasslands reduced plant productivity by 25% in sheltered zones under the PV panels (referred to as ‘Under zones') compared to the ambient grassland; however, soil properties did not vary between the treatments (Armstrong et al., 2016).

Are grasslands a good place to install solar panels?

Grassland ecosystems, which make up approximately 24% of the earth's land surface (Yang et al., 2020), offer immense potential for meeting the land requirements for PV arrays (Bai et al., 2022). Due to their short vegetation and flat topography, grasslands are favorable locations for installing PV arrays (Kannenberg et al., 2023).

Can solar panels restore degraded grasslands?

Additionally, we considered the feasibility of transferring the economic cost of restoring grassland to the proprietors of solar parks. Based on our findings, we suggest that PV arrays may have the potential to be used as a measure to restore degraded grasslands and alleviate the constraints of land use for solar parks.

Can PV power stations be installed in grassland areas?

As a result, PV power stations have rapidly developed in grassland areas (Adeh et al., 2019; Armstrong et al., 2016; Dias et al., 2019; Martín-Chivelet, 2016), particularly in the northern grassland areas of China (Bai et al., 2022; Zhao et al., 2019).

Can grassland ecosystems be used for photovoltaic panels?

Grassland ecosystems account for over 20 % of the global land area, providing huge potential for the deployment of photovoltaic panels (Zhang et al., 2024a).

Can photovoltaic power stations be built in a degraded grassland ecosystem?

Specifically, many photovoltaic power stations have been built in degraded grassland ecosystem in semi-arid areas, which effectively utilizes the land's resources limited by low water and nutrient availability (Heredia-Velásquez et al., 2023).