Comments on: Why Environmentalists Oppose New Solar Power Plants

By: Dan

Dan — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:07:09 +0000

Concentrated solar does work best on a large scale and is more efficient, but is it any more practical than distributed generation? Even large solar plants right next to transmission lines would stress our current energy grid, which has effectually been left to rot for much of the last thirty years; while politicians and businessmen changed electricity from a service to a commodity. Maintenance and improvement of the electrical grid is not a moneymaking venture and therefore not of much value to the corporate model. That is why under deregulation we have seen the nation’s infrastructure take a scary plunge. Just look at the effect of a typical winter storm in the east and midwest nowadays.

Distributed generation would give both the nation AND the individual household more energy independence: a big selling point behind solar throughout its history. So while utility-scale solar generation has its benefits, it is also important to remember, and not to limit, solar energy’s potential. Rooftop solar, energy conservation and efficiency just seem to be the better overall approach to me. And something that would give the average consumer a bit more power; a big deal during these economic struggles.

By: Jason

Jason — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 21:59:33 +0000

At some level, we all need to chose our battles.

Thousands of acres of solar installed on state land for next to no cost to the operator.. that would be a raw deal for just about everyone else. Hundreds of acres of solar on private land? thats another issue. Many location issues are taken care of when transmission is considered – transmission infrastructure is expensive, and any installation that is realistically considered will be near *existing* infrastructure – not in untouched wilderness. PV on buildings is great, and cost effective to have production at the demand, but concentrated solar is more efficient and is best done on a large scale.

If it becomes easier and cheaper to just build another natural gas power plant; utilities will happily proceed down the road well traveled.

By: Larry Hogue

Larry Hogue — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 04:17:06 +0000

Thanks for the great summary of our blog post. Feed-In Tariffs are the way to go, and all cities should be adopting the AB 811 financing mechanisms.

If solar is going to happen in desert areas, it should be only after we’ve fully explored all the other better solutions such as energy efficiency, conservation, and urban rooftop solar. Then it should only be done on previously disturbed desert areas, such as abandoned farm land. But this isn’t the way things are preceding. Big companies such as Bright Source prefer to build on pristine lands far from transmission lines, because they and the utilities reap a greater profit this way.

You might also be interested in the website http://www.allianceforresponsibleenergypolicy.com/ .