Abstract
Photovoltaic power (PV) facilities installed above cultivated farmland (hereafter, farming PV) have the potential to revitalise farming and rural areas. This study analysed local people's preferences and evaluations regarding potential positive as well as negative social and environmental effects caused by farming PV installation by utilising statistical methods, and implications were obtained regarding the technological development of and policies pertaining to farming PVs. Such implications were obtained not from the viewpoint of technological appropriateness but from that of social acceptability. Installation of farming PVs could be better accepted not in rural areas but on farming plots in residential and commercial areas. The needs for developing PV panels, which prevent glares caused by the reflection of sunlight, are not substantial compared to those pertaining to general PV development. The social demand for scenery-compatible farming PVs is not that large. However, it could be worthwhile to design farming PV systems that are more pleasing to the eye, including farming plots.
