As solar energy becomes more affordable and widespread, farmland has emerged as a prime location for large-scale solar development. But with this expansion comes a persistent question: Do nearby property values suffer when solar farms move in? In a new paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers in Virginia Tech’s Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences looked at millions of property sales and thousands of commercial solar sites to shed some light on one of the mostly commonly cited downsides of large-scale solar adoption. 

Researchers studied an ancient forest of bald cypress trees preserved in subfossil form at the mouth of Georgia’s Altamaha River. Using radiocarbon dating and tree-ring analysis, they revealed a dramatic shift in growth patterns: around 500 A.D., these trees began growing faster – but living far shorter lives. Their average lifespan plunged from more than 470 years to just 186, coinciding with the Vandal Minimum,  a sixth century climate crisis marked by global cooling and upheaval, likely caused by volcanic eruptions and possibly even a comet impact.