When Counties Ban Solar, Agrivoltaics Is the Answer for Rural America
More than 100 rural US counties have banned or severely restricted utility-scale solar in recent years. For rural communities already working with limited resources, that can feel like being cut off from the clean energy future. A new analysis from pv magazine USA shows why agrivoltaics, the same model we've been building here in Bullock County, Alabama, is changing that picture.
The resistance to large solar farms is real and, in some places, intense. Arizona lawmakers proposed making it a misdemeanor to build utility-scale solar or wind within four miles of a home. Developers cancelled roughly 30% of utility-scale wind and solar projects during siting between 2018 and 2023, mainly because of community opposition and local ordinances. People don't want to see productive farmland converted to solar fields. That conflict is not going away on its own.
Agrivoltaics places solar panels above crops or farm animals. The land stays in agricultural production, while the panels harvest energy from sunlight that crops or animals don't use. Virginia formalized this approach in 2026, passing legislation that defines agrivoltaics and voids blanket local bans on solar. When land stays in agricultural use, counties have less reason to say no. Close to two-thirds of Virginia's counties currently ban or severely restrict large solar farms. That's the scale of the access problem agrivoltaics can solve.
At Little USA Solar, we've been working from this premise since the beginning. Our agrivoltaic model in Union Springs, Alabama, is built around the idea that the land shouldn't give up one thing to gain another. The Black Belt has some of the most fertile soil in the country and strong solar potential across the region. We intend to use both. Green jobs, food access, and community ownership of the energy supply all grow from that combination. When this conversation reaches Alabama's county commissions, we want our neighbors to know what agrivoltaics actually is and what it can mean for their land.
The policy trend is moving in the right direction, and real communities are building the proof. We're one of them.
