How do solar & agricultural labor requirements compare

To understand Solar impact on labor requirements, let’s look at the 1350 acre Hillcrest Solar farm near Mt Orab, OH.

First, we must determine, how much labor is needed for the row crops previously raised on the site. The University of Illinois estimates $48 of labor is needed to grow each acre of corn or soybeans. if all 1350 acres were in crops, that land required $64,800 of labor.

Hillcrest expects five full-time and five part-time employees. Since $64,800.can not possibly support that many employees, it is obvious that Solar will increase the employment of the community.