**3. Designating locations for solar panel installations**

Governmental criteria for designating land for solar farm use can be classified into three major categories:


**51**

**Table 1.**

*The Effects of Green Energy Production on Farmland: A Case Study in Yunlin County, Taiwan*

environmental, agricultural, landscape, perspectives of cultural heritage, habitat, human settlement, etc. [13–15]. Solar farms are often a more efficient use for land encountering difficulty retaining its original use due to contamination, subsidence, or other deteriorating factors. In the third case, solar farms can be utilized as a tool to aid socioeconomic hardship on the part of landowners by offering a source of extra and potentially higher income, such as for financially disadvantaged or aging

Rooftop solar panels are allowed on agricultural land in Taiwan, but solar farms with panels set directly into the ground are restricted except in cases where the land has already been permanently contaminated and is not fit for further agricultural use. Rooftop panels are encouraged for most buildings, with the exception of greenhouses (who have a 40% maximum limit) and screenhouses, as they have minimal impact on ground-level land use and contribute to the self-sustainability of agricultural production. Ground-level solar farm use is generally not allowed for the protection of agricultural resources except when strict conditions are met, conditions that themselves correspond to the above three criteria (cf. **Table 1**). Under criterion 1, agricultural land of the highest grade (i.e., "special agricultural districts") without actual farming activity is restricted from building solar farms [17]. Under criterion 2, agricultural land with farming activity can build solar farms within designated areas up to a 40% land use maximum. In practice, however, this type of solar farm is not encouraged as local governments fail to designate the appropriate areas. Under criterion 3, contaminated agricultural land is applicable for building solar farms

**Land in general Agricultural land**

**Rooftop solar panels:**

Taiwan, 2018b) **Solar farms:**

Solar panels can be installed on the roof of existing buildings in agricultural land except for greenhouses (a 40% maximum) and screenhouses (The Government of

Criterion 1: Agricultural land of the highest grade without farming activity is restricted

Criterion 3: Agricultural land with a loss of agrological capacity can be considered for solar farm designation up to a 70% maximum, including (a) existing permanently contaminated agricultural land and (b) subsided or salted agricultural land [18]

Some agricultural land is overzealously replaced or abandoned altogether in lieu of solar farm upkeep by unscrupulous farm

Some tenants' farming businesses are terminated by landlords seeking better revenues via solar farming [20]

from building solar farms [16] Criterion 2: Agricultural land with farming activity can build solar farms within designated areas up to 40% land use maximum. In practice, however, land

remains undesignated [18]

owners [19]

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.85906*

**Land use type**

concerns [15]

original use

a good choice

Issues Change of land cover and landscape

*Compilation of designation of solar farm locations and associated issues.*

Three categories of criteria: 1.Land characteristics that suggest excluding solar farm designation due to incompatibility, including (a) landscape and environmental concerns **[**13**]**, (b) agrological concerns [16], and (c) socioeconomic

2.Land characteristics that suggest incorporating solar farms in addition to or as a replacement for

3.Landowner's socioeconomic status suggests incorporating solar farms is

Potential environmental impacts on biodiversity due to land cover change from solar farm implementation [16] Potential economic impact on the original function of the land

landowner communities.

Governmental/ theoretical criteria

When it comes to the first case of incompatibility, a wide variety of concerns must be considered to avoid intrusion upon or damage to land resources:
