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I live off grid and my house is 100% solar, at least when we have sunny days that is. I have real doubts though about large scale industrial solar power plants and just how green they really are. The warmer cult has taken over all the main environmental groups and the philosophy seems to be, if it doesn’t produce c02 it’s good, it’s green and we like it. There are a lot o fenvironmental concerns though with these solar plants that need to be considered before rushing headlong into this alternative energy source. Hydropower doesn’t produce c02 either but it sure does play havoc with river ecosystems. Maybe we should look before we leap this time.
So, when it comes to solar farms, what types of environmental impacts can be expected?
First and foremost is the disruption of what might have been pristine property. Obviously, construction is intensive, but even the fact of having large parabolic solar panels or mirrors taking up acres of land. Migration routes and habitat of wildlife, flora and fauna could be displaced.
Often, new solar installation sites are graded, sprayed with weed control chemicals and shaded. Each one of these steps will change the dynamics of the original function of the land with respect to plant and animal inhabitants. Humans will be present on a more regular basis, likely driving to the site in vehicles and disposing of trash, etc. through maintenance and operation of the solar power plants.
Solar Farms Environmental Impact | Solar Power - PV Panels
Yet despite the environmental risks, Kyl and his staff say proponents of the renewable energy technology have continued to press for building more solar plants in the desert. “Despite the seriousness of [the state's] water constraints, solar power companies have largely ignored water concerns and continue to propose water-intensive conventional CSP plants in Arizona.”
The policy report, which stunned both the solar power industry and policymakers, comes as the Obama administration pushes for a significant expansion of renewable energy nationwide, including in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert region, which ranks second only to the Mojave Desert in the number of proposed solar power projects.
Solar Issues in the Desert Southwest - By Greg Pollowitz - Planet Gore - National Review Online#
From the literature available on related ground disturbance, many desert processes would be altered, grossly affecting many habitat qualities. So far the following have been found to be profoundly affected:
soil density
water infiltration rate
likelihood of erosion
secondary plant succession
invasion by alien plants, and
stability of soil crusts.
Drainage patterns would obviously be disturbed by ground preparation, changing plant communities' water supplies and killing by root dessication.
A desert with roads is changed far beyond the imagination of a road user. A study in southern Nevada found Agassiz's tortoise activity affected up to 4000m from a road. Edge enhancement (meaning plant and herbivore proliferation alongside roads) inevitably means attraction of species such as tortoise to the road, leading to previous figures being produced on increased vehicle strikes. Fragmentation of habitat by the roads has affected desert ecology in many ways, with bighorn sheep the tortoise spp. and mule deer already restricted in genetic exchange as well as migration (creating bottlenecks, for example) and general movement with resultant range reduction.
Noise pollution mainly during the construction (and decommissioning) phases would have great effects on many different species of animal. Rattlesnakes could have a field day, as kangaroo rats have been proved to be less able to detect predators (partly due to loss of hearing). The quiet nature of solar energy belies its ability to encourage traffic flow and the need for large numbers of pumps and fans, particularly for the preferred dry cooling systems. Uniquely worrying too are those concentrated beans of reflected light. These have been recorded killing birds and flying insects, but the heat involved can transport downwind to create drought conditions. That particular micro-climate can only be expected to damage these ultra-sensitive habitats.
Arizona argument: The impact of renewable energy | Energy | The Earth Times
So, when it comes to solar farms, what types of environmental impacts can be expected?
First and foremost is the disruption of what might have been pristine property. Obviously, construction is intensive, but even the fact of having large parabolic solar panels or mirrors taking up acres of land. Migration routes and habitat of wildlife, flora and fauna could be displaced.
Often, new solar installation sites are graded, sprayed with weed control chemicals and shaded. Each one of these steps will change the dynamics of the original function of the land with respect to plant and animal inhabitants. Humans will be present on a more regular basis, likely driving to the site in vehicles and disposing of trash, etc. through maintenance and operation of the solar power plants.
Solar Farms Environmental Impact | Solar Power - PV Panels
Yet despite the environmental risks, Kyl and his staff say proponents of the renewable energy technology have continued to press for building more solar plants in the desert. “Despite the seriousness of [the state's] water constraints, solar power companies have largely ignored water concerns and continue to propose water-intensive conventional CSP plants in Arizona.”
The policy report, which stunned both the solar power industry and policymakers, comes as the Obama administration pushes for a significant expansion of renewable energy nationwide, including in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert region, which ranks second only to the Mojave Desert in the number of proposed solar power projects.
Solar Issues in the Desert Southwest - By Greg Pollowitz - Planet Gore - National Review Online#
From the literature available on related ground disturbance, many desert processes would be altered, grossly affecting many habitat qualities. So far the following have been found to be profoundly affected:
soil density
water infiltration rate
likelihood of erosion
secondary plant succession
invasion by alien plants, and
stability of soil crusts.
Drainage patterns would obviously be disturbed by ground preparation, changing plant communities' water supplies and killing by root dessication.
A desert with roads is changed far beyond the imagination of a road user. A study in southern Nevada found Agassiz's tortoise activity affected up to 4000m from a road. Edge enhancement (meaning plant and herbivore proliferation alongside roads) inevitably means attraction of species such as tortoise to the road, leading to previous figures being produced on increased vehicle strikes. Fragmentation of habitat by the roads has affected desert ecology in many ways, with bighorn sheep the tortoise spp. and mule deer already restricted in genetic exchange as well as migration (creating bottlenecks, for example) and general movement with resultant range reduction.
Noise pollution mainly during the construction (and decommissioning) phases would have great effects on many different species of animal. Rattlesnakes could have a field day, as kangaroo rats have been proved to be less able to detect predators (partly due to loss of hearing). The quiet nature of solar energy belies its ability to encourage traffic flow and the need for large numbers of pumps and fans, particularly for the preferred dry cooling systems. Uniquely worrying too are those concentrated beans of reflected light. These have been recorded killing birds and flying insects, but the heat involved can transport downwind to create drought conditions. That particular micro-climate can only be expected to damage these ultra-sensitive habitats.
Arizona argument: The impact of renewable energy | Energy | The Earth Times
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Minimal electricity transition loss, synchronised demand (for example, when there is strong demand for air conditioning, this is also the time the plant produces peak electricity and the opposite - no sunshine-> less air-conditioning-> less electricity demand).
Weed problem solved. 
