Even with my skeptical views of HOW solar is being added to the grid --- this little critique of solar siting put me back on my heels. For those of you who THINK Solar/Wind are immune from these nit-pickers --- you need to think again....
Only 15% of California's Big Solar Projects Are on the Right Kind of Land - IEEE Spectrum
The real estate agent’s mantra is well known: location, location, location. But location is important, too, when considering where to site utility-scale solar projects, and most of California's projects or planned projects are in less-than-ideal spots, according to a new study. As a result, these projects may have negative impacts on the environment and will not be as cost-effective or as carbon neutral as they could be.
Researchers from Stanford University and the University of California’s Riverside and Berkeley campuses identified 161 planned or proposed large-scale utility solar and applied an algorithm to determine how compatible they are with their location.
The results, which were published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that only 15 percent of sites were on compatible land.
The vast majority of projects were slated for a type of habitat called shrubland or scrubland. These are habitats dominated by sagebrushes and small plants that are common in Mediterranean climates. In California, they are "biodiversity hotspots," but have already lost around 70 percent of their original extent.
About 48 percent of the land sited for photovoltaic projects and 43 percent of the land for concentrating solar power (CSP) projects were on shrub or scrublands. The second most common area for utility-scale solar was on agricultural land.
Nearly 74 percent of PV installations and 90 percent of CSP installations were within 10 kilometers of a protected area—a range that Hernandez says is too close and could have ill effects.
"We really need to think especially hard about what we develop and the kind of activities that we do around protected areas or else it could compromise the protected areas.
Welcome to world of dealing with these issues. Now -- solar has reached the "big game" and is subject to the same negative pressures from the folks who won't ever be satisfied.
Only 15% of California's Big Solar Projects Are on the Right Kind of Land - IEEE Spectrum
The real estate agent’s mantra is well known: location, location, location. But location is important, too, when considering where to site utility-scale solar projects, and most of California's projects or planned projects are in less-than-ideal spots, according to a new study. As a result, these projects may have negative impacts on the environment and will not be as cost-effective or as carbon neutral as they could be.
Researchers from Stanford University and the University of California’s Riverside and Berkeley campuses identified 161 planned or proposed large-scale utility solar and applied an algorithm to determine how compatible they are with their location.
The results, which were published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that only 15 percent of sites were on compatible land.
The vast majority of projects were slated for a type of habitat called shrubland or scrubland. These are habitats dominated by sagebrushes and small plants that are common in Mediterranean climates. In California, they are "biodiversity hotspots," but have already lost around 70 percent of their original extent.
About 48 percent of the land sited for photovoltaic projects and 43 percent of the land for concentrating solar power (CSP) projects were on shrub or scrublands. The second most common area for utility-scale solar was on agricultural land.
Nearly 74 percent of PV installations and 90 percent of CSP installations were within 10 kilometers of a protected area—a range that Hernandez says is too close and could have ill effects.
"We really need to think especially hard about what we develop and the kind of activities that we do around protected areas or else it could compromise the protected areas.
Welcome to world of dealing with these issues. Now -- solar has reached the "big game" and is subject to the same negative pressures from the folks who won't ever be satisfied.
