Texas recently overtook California to become the nation’s leading state for solar-produced electricity, a shift that is reshaping both energy generation and the prospects for many local landowners.
This transformation doesn’t just bolster Texas’ credentials in renewable energy; it’s also altering the futures of numerous farmers who once depended solely on traditional crops. For Steve Cargil, whose family began farming near Uvalde in southwest Texas in 1953, solar energy has created a crucial new income source during hard times.
Mainstay Farmers Turn to Solar for Stability
Devastating natural events threw Cargil’s plans for handing down the family legacy into doubt. In 2018, a hailstorm wiped out his cabbage and onion fields overnight after months of work, prompting his son Ryan to question whether they could continue farming. Uncertainty loomed, as many U.S. farmers lack retirement savings to cushion such blows.
In 2001, Cargil made a pivotal decision to lease 600 acres—one-fourth of his land—to OCI Energy, which then built a solar farm on the property. The lease ever since has paid Cargil $200,000 annually, helping him withstand droughts and keep farming. Thanks to this partnership, he’s able to concentrate irrigation on his remaining farmland, making him less dependent on volatile diesel and fertilizer costs. Cargil calls the solar lease “life-changing.”
Across the state, this trend is gaining momentum. According to a recent Inside Climate News analysis, Texas is now the number one state for solar electricity generation. Data from the US Energy Information Administration reveals that in March of last year, Texas solar output exceeded coal power for the first time ever.
Solar Boom Driven by Affordability and Growing Energy Demand
Two factors are driving this boom, says Mark Stover, executive director of the Texas Solar and Storage Association: affordable solar prices and a swift grid connection process enabled by Texas’ independent power grid, as well as increasing energy demand from a growing population. The state’s population rose 15.8% from 2015 to 2025, making affordable and reliable electricity more critical.
OCI Energy’s vice president of project development, James Scott, points out that steady advances in solar manufacturing have pushed costs down to historic lows, making solar now the cheapest form of electricity generation in Texas. Once built, a solar farm can offer fixed rates for decades—Scott mentions a typical $40 per megawatt hour fixed rate for 25 years, a particularly attractive option for major companies such as Amazon and Apple. In contrast, electricity from new coal plants costs almost $90 per megawatt hour in the US.
Solar farm development depends on the availability of large, flat parcels, making farmers central to expansion. Landowners can benefit from long-term leases, keeping their farms viable and, in certain cases, able to plan for retirement or generational trusts. Stover notes that altogether, solar sites occupy less than 0.15% of Texas’ total land.
Growing Pains and Community Concerns
However, the rapid growth of solar projects has sparked pushback in some rural Texas counties. In Franklin County in the northeast, resistance has grown, with residents citing problems like land clearance, impacts on historic areas, battery safety concerns, and changes to local scenery. Attorney BF Hicks described the loss of ancient trees and installation of solar panels near his family’s centuries-old cemetery, while retired federal officer David Truesdale began advocacy after learning about a nearby solar farm that bypassed environmental review.
As a result, Franklin County was among the first in Texas to impose a local moratorium on new solar developments, though developers overturned this ban through legal action. Concerns have centered on fire risks from large lithium-ion batteries, water runoff following land clearing, and the general effect on rural character.
On the political front, former President Trump and other high-profile opponents have described renewable projects as “farmer destroying” and pushed to curb federal incentives for these ventures. Nonetheless, public opinion may be evolving. A February poll by Fabrizio Lee and Associates—a firm which also works with Trump—measured 68% Republican voter support for including utility solar in the energy mix to hold down costs, according to Utility Dive. Stover adds that Texas’ Republican-majority legislature generally supports solar, appreciating its benefits for grid reliability.
Solar Secures a Future for Family Farms
Thanks to the steady income from his solar lease, Steve Cargil can now imagine his farm’s future extending on to his fifth generation, rather than continually fearing unpredictable setbacks.
Cargil remembers his father’s words: “You’re better off being lucky than being smart.” For him, Texas’ solar boom has been a stroke of luck—one he never foresaw, yet one that could sustain his family’s farm for decades ahead.