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In the California desert, residents are struggling with the influx of massive solar projects (www.fastcompany.com)

submitted 3 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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The country’s largest area designated for solar energy, Desert Center shows how sprawls of PV panels impact communities.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I fail to see the “struggle”. It’s not like this stuff spews soot into the area or something. It’s innocuous.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Residents worry about the project’s dust, the potential spread of Valley Fever from fungal spores that could be stirred up and their properties losing value. The project’s water assessment found it could result in a deficit of 300 acre feet of groundwater—typically enough for 600 California homes—meaning more water would be coming out of the local aquifer than goes in.

They're not trying to stop it but they want negative impacts mitigated. This seems reasonable.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Smells like bullshit excuses. The same article talks about “They want a buffer zone to protect their viewscape and other proposed developments in the area, like new housing and a gas station.” So they don’t have a problem with other construction kicking up dust or using water — just the solar farm construction.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Thank you for a reading the article and responding with substance from it that considers what it says instead of being dismissive. These projects are far from perfect.