Solar fields compatible with plants but remember conservation principles

At Florida Gulf Coast University there is a solar "field" but it's moonscaped to bare rock with herbicide, which is sad.



The study described in this article is a reminder that plants *can* grow well around solar panels if you let them. I still think the best spot for solar panels is rooftops and parking lots that are already impervious surface, and that we should never destroy wilderness to make solar fields, but it's nice to know that farm or ranch land with panels can still function as farm or ranch land.


PS- The least glamorous but most important part of energy sustainability is reducing energy consumption through conservation and efficiency. Trying to just produce more and more energy to meet endlessly increasing energy demand is not cool, not even with renewable energy sources. That's why we need to reject energy-ravenous bullshit tech like the city-sized server farms grinding for cryptocurrency and AI that our "broligarch" overlords are pushing for. https://www.techinasia.com/news/metas-10b-us-ai-data-center-plan-sparks-climate-concerns