Utility-scale solar refers to large solar installations designed to feed power directly onto the electric grid. The power is sold at. . Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory compiled and synthesized empirical data on the U. The focus is on ground-mounted systems larger than 5M AC, including photovoltaic (PV) standalone and PV+battery hybrid projects (smaller projects are covered in Berkeley Lab's. . Since 2008, hundreds of thousands of solar panels have been installed across the country as more and more Americans choose solar energy for their daily lives. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) have made solar energy more affordable for American. . Driven by subsidies, mandates and federal and state policies compelling the use of more renewable energy, solar energy facilities are now displacing farmland at an increasing rate. While land leases generally offer protection for landowners so that farms can be reclaimed from the solar. . In the last decade, solar has grown with an average annual rate of 26 percent, reaching a capacity of over 138 gigawatts in 2023.