Geography
The dawn of solar photovoltaics: emergent political economies at the solar–agri–land nexus
Document Type
Article
Abstract
Solar power is the most rapidly growing energy source worldwide. Solar turn holds potential for a significant shift to renewable energy and swift reductions in carbon emissions. Yet, as a land- and resource-intensive activity, solar photovoltaics infrastructure can dispossess resource-dependent people, reduce habitats for the other-than-human, aggravate inequities, and further weaken democratic controls. Diversifying energy infrastructure requires a fuller understanding of new energy geographies—both real and imagined—constituted through the solar turn: the maturation of solar energy technologies paired with the logic of rapid scaling of low-carbon energy production in heterogeneous governance contexts. We approach solar rollout in relation to agricultural and more broadly land use developments both in terms of an argument linked to cross-sectoral transitions (nexus thinking) and as an analytical strategy to advance debates around green grabbing and political economy of land. This special feature sheds light on the emergent political economies, materiality, and governance processes at the solar–agri–land nexus. We highlight three insights—nexus governance across spatial scales, local expressions of political economy, and engaged research during global acceleration—to advance analysis and constructive deployment of renewable energy. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Japan KK 2025.
Publication Title
Sustainability Science
Publication Date
2025
ISSN
1862-4065
DOI
10.1007/s11625-025-01721-8
Keywords
renewable energy, solar turn, solar power
Repository Citation
Sareen, Siddharth; Shokrgozar, Shayan; McCarthy, James; and Wolf, Steven, "The dawn of solar photovoltaics: emergent political economies at the solar–agri–land nexus" (2025). Geography. 1021.
https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_geography/1021
