Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline.Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline.
Electromagnetic fields from solar farms are far too weak to harm human health and fall well within accepted safety limits for exposure.
Solar equipment emits non-ionizing radiation, meaning it has enough energy to move atoms in a molecule but not enough to remove electrons or damage DNA. Solar farm EMFs are even less energetic than other forms of common non-ionizing radiation such as radio waves, infrared, or visible light.
Even when standing directly beside the largest-scale equipment, EMF levels measure around 1,050 milligauss (mG), lower than exposure from using an electric can opener (up to 1,500 mG) and well below exposure limits (around 2,000 mG). At distances typical of real-world exposure – 9 feet from a residential inverter or 150 feet from a utility-scale inverter – field strength falls to 0.5 mG or less.
Scientific reviews find no consistent evidence of negative health impacts from EMFs produced by solar farms.
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This fact brief is responsive to quotes such as this one.
Sources
NC State University Health and Safety Impacts of Solar Photovoltaics
Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources Ground-Mounted Solar Photovoltaic Systems
Massachusetts Clean Energy Center STUDY OF ACOUSTIC AND EMF LEVELS FROM SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC PROJECTS
Columbia Law School Sabin Center for Climate Change Law Rebutting 33 False Claims About Solar, Wind, and Electric Vehicles
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer "yes/no" answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact — a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all of our published fact briefs here.
Posted by Sue Bin Park on Tuesday, 9 December, 2025
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