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What Communities Actually Want From Local Large-Scale Solar Projects — and How Developers Can Deliver It

August 17, 2026

How developers and EPCs can build a community-based approach and overcome local opposition to utility-scale solar projects.

The utility-scale solar sector has never had stronger economics or greater overall demand. But the sector’s momentum is tempered by a factor few people are talking about at the macro level.

One of the most common reasons projects stall has nothing to do with interconnection queues, tariffs, or labor shortages. Instead, roadblocks emerge at town hall meetings and in various other forms of community opposition — an oft-underestimated hurdle in utility-scale solar development. Public opposition to individual solar projects has spiked in recent years, with one state (Missouri) even considering a ban on new large-scale solar developments.

The good news? Opposition is not inevitable. Many rural Americans support development — if it’s on the right terms. If developers are willing to listen and understand what communities actually want from large-scale solar, they can reap the benefits.

New data from the Solar and Storage Industries (SI2) sheds light on how developers and EPCs can build a community-based approach and overcome local opposition to utility-scale solar projects.

The Disconnect Between Broad Solar Support and Local Opposition

While national polling consistently shows bipartisan public support for solar energy, individual projects routinely face organized local opposition. Most developers know this firsthand.

The gap is explained by what researchers call the "Not in my backyard" (NIMBY) dynamic. That is: General support for solar as a concept doesn't always translate automatically into enthusiasm for a specific project on specific land in a specific community.

Local opposition to large-scale solar projects varies depending on the community, but common concerns include:

Loss of farmland and agricultural character
Property value fears
Perceived lack of local benefit
Distrust of outside developers
Misinformation about solar

Developers can offset some local opposition by conducting a thorough and selective site-selection process. But that judiciousness alone won’t address what communities actually want from the projects that come to their land.

A recent survey conducted by SI2 researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara highlights feedback from more than 5,000 rural Americans across 47 states, and offers actionable insights into what actually drives community support — and how developers can increase it.

Compared to baseline projects without community benefits, respondents’ favorability to a planned utility-scale solar project increased:

21% if it directly lowered local electricity bills
19% if it invested in schools and health initiatives
14.7% if it offered direct cash transfers
9.5% if it invested in affordable housing

In addition to incentives, the materials matter when it comes to ensuring community support. Trinasolar’s 720W Vertex N large-format modules deliver higher power output and up to 23% efficiency, combined with a low-string design that reduces the overall PV system footprint, while also cutting CAPEX and lowering LCOE. That sort of efficiency is worth implementing — and touting — regardless of the level of local opposition.

Agrivoltaics as a Community Engagement Tool for Utility-Scale Solar Developers

The same report also reveals some intriguing advantages to applying agrivoltaics as a neutralizer, as the dual-use land practice earned the largest share of added environmental support. Respondents favored projects that grow native plants under solar panels by 17.3% and projects integrating farming and/or grazing by 14.2%.

The UCSB survey results indicate agrivoltaics may even convert opponents, not just reassure the fence-sitters. Respondents who were strongly opposed to projects that replace farmland were also neutral about projects incorporating agrivoltaics, suggesting even the most skeptical audience can be swayed by incorporating agrivoltaics into the project design.

The findings are instructive for stakeholders looking to apply a more practical roadmap for development, especially in rural communities. Developers that find ways to reduce utility bills and incorporate innovative designs are more likely to spur community support.

But there are other steps developers can take to ensure good graces, such as:

Making Community Benefit Agreements (CBAs) standard practice
Structuring CBAs around the most impactful benefits: electricity bill reductions, school and infrastructure investments, and direct payments to affected landowners
Engaging the community early, before opposition has a chance to organize and foment

Designing with agrivoltaics from the start is also a savvy move. Doing so is one of the highest-ROI community engagement strategies available - but it's also just good project design. Native pollinator plantings under and around arrays don’t cost much to implement. Although integrating grazing and farming requires greater design investment (e.g., elevated racking, wider row spacing), these dual-use methods can deliver significant community and agronomic returns.

Solar project opposition often stems from information vacuums or outright misinformation, so being proactive and honest in communication is one of the most effective mitigation tools available to developers.

That might mean designating a community liaison, holding regular public meetings, and providing clear documentation of project impacts and benefits. Hiring locally or using community suppliers can also serve as a tangible demonstration of community investment.

It’s also worth avoiding sites with contested land-use histories. And when farmland conversion is unavoidable, developers can lean into agrivoltaics design and CBAs; the data shows these are specifically effective with the most resistant stakeholders.

Module Choice Matters: Minimizing Footprint While Maximizing Utility-Scale Solar Power Output

Local opposition often centers on visual aesthetics, with residents unhappy about how large-scale solar arrays might disrupt the landscape.

One underappreciated lever for developers: Higher-power and more efficient PV modules can generate the same energy output with fewer panels and a smaller footprint.

Trinasolar’s Vertex N 720W large-format module (LFM) delivers up to 720W power output and 23% efficiency. It’s the industry's first mass-produced TOPCon module to surpass 700W. The high-power, low-voltage architecture reduces costs per watt, helping achieve low system-level LCOE.

For community-facing projects, developers can use Vertex N to design utility-scale solar installations using fewer modules and smaller footprints. Plus, they’re built for agrivoltaics compatibility and come with proven long-term reliability, even under harsh environmental and mechanical conditions, backed by an industry-leading warranty.

The UCSB report gives developers quantitative, nationally representative evidence of exactly what moves rural communities from opposition to support. And the message is clear: Electricity bill relief and agrivoltaics are the two highest-leverage tools available — both achievable with the right project design and community engagement approach.

Developers and EPCs who apply these findings and build them into standard project development practice will face fewer delays, lower risk, and stronger long-term relationships with the communities where they build.

Make module selection part of the equation too. With fewer, higher-power modules that minimize footprint while enabling agrivoltaics design, developers will hold a material advantage in community-facing projects.

Interested in how the LFM Vertex N reduces utility-scale solar project footprints, CAPEX, and LCOE? Contact Trinasolar's local utility-scale team to learn more.

< Previous Article

The Disconnect Between Broad Solar Support and Local Opposition

Agrivoltaics as a Community Engagement Tool for Utility-Scale Solar Developers

Module Choice Matters: Minimizing Footprint While Maximizing Utility-Scale Solar Power Output

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