The US government opens 22 million acres of federal lands to solar
https://electrek.co/2024/01/18/us-govt-opens-22-million-acres-federal-lands-solar/Open linkView original on lemmy.caSyndicated from the fediverse. Read and engage on the original instance.
View original on lemmy.cahttps://electrek.co/2024/01/18/us-govt-opens-22-million-acres-federal-lands-solar/Open linkView original on lemmy.ca
13 replies
Which will eventually be sold to private entities and public land will continue to disappear. Just like all of the public land Weyerhauser has gobbled up and shut off access. Oh I'm sorry you could pay $350 for a yearly pass that they only put a handful of out.
We don't really need new area for solar. We've got plenty, and I mean plenty, of developed hard surfaces panels can be put on top of.
Also, they already usually have infrastructural connection to power, so thats a bonus.
How many acres of parking lots does the federal government own that could accomplish this without disturbing the environment?
This is way bigger than you think it is.
It’s just frustrating when people talk about solar they seem to be ok with wrecking the environment. It would be relatively easy to retrofit parking lots.
People also talk about turning roads and sidewalks into solar. It’s like parking is some sort of untouchable structure that we can’t demand be part of the solution.
It's much more expensive and slower to put a solar roof on a parking lot then it is to drop it in a field.
Good point. I was gonna say, acres upon acres of solar farms would be equivalent to paving the land they're on. And unlike the African Sahara, we don't have much in the way of actual wasteland with zero life around here.
Someone further down the comment chain suggested parking lots. Rooftops would be a better move too - just need a tax incentive and we're off to the races.
For reference, that is an area larger than South Carolina and nearly as large as Maine.
I can't vouch for this website, but if true, this seems like a great step in the right direction.
https://8billiontrees.com/solar-panels/how-many-solar-panels-to-power-the-us/#:~:text=How%20Many%20Acres%20of%20Solar,13%2C600%2C000%20acres%20of%20solar%20panels.
Approx 250 acres to a square km, so let's call this 100,000 sq km of land. That's about a fifth of what would be needed to power the world.
So, is the US now planning on powering Canada and South America too, or is something funny going on?
EVs
Also, just cause they allot the land doesn’t mean they will build it. Now excuse me, while go read the article.
Need to power that ion cannon... Er space cargo accelerator...