"Ohhh we're losing all of our land to solar panel farms... "
No. We're not. This is a lie. And it's meant to deceive us into sticking with fossil fuels for longer.
Excellent data-driven, graphics-based story from the Australian ABC at..
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-18/survey-of-the-worlds-solar-shows-global-boom/104006096
And also...
“the land required for solar panels alone to provide all global energy is … less than the current land footprint of fossil fuel infrastructure”.
Amazing.
Oh and also, also...
“But as far as sheep grazing goes, solar is really good.”
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/jun/13/farmers-who-graze-sheep-under-solar-panels-say-it-improves-productivity-so-why-dont-we-do-it-more
@mackayim2022 You could make the argument that you should include land used to grow corn for ethanol production in the US in the fossil fuel footprint ... but that almost makes things too easy.
Well yes, but good farmland wouldn't be my first choice. Arguaably better to let it go fallow and reforest as a carbon sink and put your solar panels on our copious deserts and badlands.
Sometimes farmland actually benefits from solar panels. In sunny and dry areas, providing shade can improve crop yields and/or reduce the need for watering.
For instance, there's a farm outside Denver, Colorado that has solar shading its vegetable fields.
@pieist @acsawdey @mackayim2022 Land use is no issue. Think of space on roofs, parking cover, waters, and even in space.
@mackayim2022 @hansbot @acsawdey
Well, he did say "even in space". I'm a big fan of the idea of solar power satellites. No atmospheric attenuation (except when beaming the energy back to Earth, but you can choose your wavelength to minimize that), no nighttime, unlimited size, no need to support its weight against gravity.
The only problem is how do you keep governments from turning it into a death ray to, e.g., win wars and suppress dissent...?
@pieist @mackayim2022 100% agree but in the absence of sane land use regulation ... 10+ acre solar arrays are going up all over in Minnesota, and from a wildlife point of view 10 acres with a fence around it and racks of panels, with mowing a couple times a year is way more habitat than 10 acres of corn monoculture sprayed down with Monsanto's finest.