Excellent. Loved Bryony's closing statement. I was curious what % of annual installed capacity and generation was distributed/rooftop. It looks like that has decreased from about a third to about a quarter based on some Googling. Generation would be less, as rooftop solar doesn't track or use bifacial panels.
I would not underestimate the ability of American right-wing/fossil "info"-fueled populism to use permit denial to dent large scale solar here, the same way it's tanked wind farm construction. (Along with the absurd RTO/ISO interconnection limitations. FERC should have made ERCOT style "connect and manage" mandatory nationwide while it had the chance.)
The MAHA component of rural exurban opposition is real. Talking about an under-construction 100 MW solar farm with a gal at hip nearby brewery, she responded, "Oh the lead, oh the EMFs." A lot of "climate activists" seem remarkably unenthusiastic and are getting deluded by promises of "low-cost SMRs."
Then there are the traditionalists/preservationists, In today's Inside Climate News, a Michigan county commissioner was quoted, “We cannot, and will not, stand by as our farmland is bulldozed in the name of industrialization,” the statement read. “These developments threaten to turn our fertile soil into wastelands, putting at risk the livelihoods of those who have worked the land for decades. It is an insult to our heritage, and we will not allow it to stand.”
I tour these industrial solar projects. I also live in county with 15,000 gas wells. At the solar projects there is green grass or sagebrush growing; small wildlife, no toxic fumes or runoff or ruptured "condensate" lines. No comparison.
Got little off topic. In any case, it's wonderful to see the worldwide surge in solar, being amplified by the awesome synergy with cheaper batteries.
Excellent. Loved Bryony's closing statement. I was curious what % of annual installed capacity and generation was distributed/rooftop. It looks like that has decreased from about a third to about a quarter based on some Googling. Generation would be less, as rooftop solar doesn't track or use bifacial panels.
I would not underestimate the ability of American right-wing/fossil "info"-fueled populism to use permit denial to dent large scale solar here, the same way it's tanked wind farm construction. (Along with the absurd RTO/ISO interconnection limitations. FERC should have made ERCOT style "connect and manage" mandatory nationwide while it had the chance.)
The MAHA component of rural exurban opposition is real. Talking about an under-construction 100 MW solar farm with a gal at hip nearby brewery, she responded, "Oh the lead, oh the EMFs." A lot of "climate activists" seem remarkably unenthusiastic and are getting deluded by promises of "low-cost SMRs."
Then there are the traditionalists/preservationists, In today's Inside Climate News, a Michigan county commissioner was quoted, “We cannot, and will not, stand by as our farmland is bulldozed in the name of industrialization,” the statement read. “These developments threaten to turn our fertile soil into wastelands, putting at risk the livelihoods of those who have worked the land for decades. It is an insult to our heritage, and we will not allow it to stand.”
I tour these industrial solar projects. I also live in county with 15,000 gas wells. At the solar projects there is green grass or sagebrush growing; small wildlife, no toxic fumes or runoff or ruptured "condensate" lines. No comparison.
Got little off topic. In any case, it's wonderful to see the worldwide surge in solar, being amplified by the awesome synergy with cheaper batteries.
Great podcast David--and encouraging to read in a period like we're experiencing right now in the US.