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To conserve the environment, the power system needs to decarbonize, and that means solar needs to be built somewhere. No matter where it's built, solar will tak
by whats_a_quasar 3y ago
To conserve the environment, the power system needs to decarbonize, and that means solar needs to be built somewhere. No matter where it's built, solar will take up land, so we ought to build it in the places where the sun makes it most effective.
People supporting development of clean energy don't necessarily believe these areas are empty: they think that the best way to preserve the environment is to use that land to generate power and eliminate some portion of fossil fuel emissions.
There is a crapload of desert in the U.S. West. The tortoises need to live somewhere, but it is hard to me to imagine the harm to the tortoises of solar development is worse than the detriment to all ecosystems from CO2 emissions.
- midoridensha 3y ago>There is a crapload of desert in the U.S. West There's also a crapload of space on top of buildings, in the cities where people want to consume the power generated by solar arrays. Why isn't there more of a push to install solar arrays on rooftops? Or over parking lots?
- HDThoreaun 3y agoWell first of all there is. California now requires new houses to have solar. But residential solar is much more expensive because you need roofers to install it. Massive solar farms are much faster to install and much cheaper.
- midoridensha 3y agoThere's also commercial buildings. You could put a gigantic solar array on top of a Walmart Supercenter, and then an even bigger solar array over its parking lot.