Toxicological Assesment of Solar Panels via a Soil Microbiome Analysis

Overview

Despite a significant increase in solar energy generation and photovoltaic installations in solar farms, little is known about their effects on the soil microbiome. There have only been 3 published studies on this subject matter, but they were all conducted outside of the US with small sample sizes and only using Illumina DNA sequencing. This study is the first comprehensive assessment of the bacterial microbiome of solar panel soil in the US and advantageously uses Oxford Nanopore sequencing for longer read lengths. 12 soil samples, 6 samples under solar panels (test samples), and 6 samples of adjacent non-shaded soil (control samples) were 16S rRNA sequenced, yielding 443,597 reads. Comparative analysis revealed significant differences in genus-level abundance between test and control samples for 186 genera (P<0.05). Alpha diversity indices emphasizing richness (Taxa, Chao, and Margalef) were greater for controls than tests, but evenness indices (Shannon, Pielou's J, and Simpson) were greater for tests than controls. Beta diversity was also significantly different between tests and controls (P=0.02). Significant differences between test and control samples were found, suggesting that solar panels alter the soil microbiome, which has major implications for soil and ecosystem health in solar farms.

Competition history

• AJAS 2026 Category not listed

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