Solar

While I certainly welcome lower-cost solar panels, and would most certainly include solar power when I own my off-grid homestead, I am deeply concerned about the tens of thousands, and soon to be hundreds of thousands of acres of land being developed for industrial solar farms across the state. Information both on solar farms and smaller, more appropriate uses of solar technology.

Colorado Solar Firms Anxiously Await Trade Commission, Trump Moves On Imports

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Colorado Solar Firms Anxiously Await Trade Commission, Trump Moves On Imports

"Rebecca Cantwell of the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association said they’ve never seen anything like this, with a few U.S. solar panel manufacturers now pitted against the remainder of the industry. Domestic panel makers want imports to cost more, providing protection for their products. That could hurt the rest of the industry which has grown because of — and grown accustomed to — cheaper goods manufactured in South Korea, Malaysia and Mexico. One Oregon company supports the trade case and wants import taxes to level its playing field. Tim Brightbill, who represents SolarWorld, said a surge of foreign panels has put more than 30 U.S. solar cell and module manufacturers out of business in the last five years." “These remedies would help strengthen the industry not only bring it back to where it was, but make it a world leader for decades to come,” Brightbill said.

"So why is most of the American solar industry taking a stand against the trade case (The two U.S. firms that initiated the case are subsidiaries of foreign-based companies), the tariffs on imported panels and other companies like SolarWorld? It’s because the bulk of the domestic solar industry focuses on everything but making black shiny slabs of solar cells. They make the wires, electrical equipment and racking. They install large systems for municipalities or utility companies and smaller systems on household roofs. "It’s those large-scale projects that stand to lose the most right now. John Hereford at Oak Leaf Energy Partners said he hasn’t closed many deals on projects past December — just when a tariff decision could kick up prices."

First solar farm may come to Guilderland

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First solar farm may come to Guilderland

While I've always thought roof top-solar pared to a household's or building's commercial load makes a lot of sense, I'm very cynical about utility-scale solar. Selling back excess power to grid is better then solar-controllers discarding it (as off grid houses do).

I think utility scale solar is mostly a nuisance to utility operators, putting mostly low-value power into the grid that is offset by running fossil power plants at a less efficient, lower speed. Even at peak times, utility solar has to be backed up by fossil-fired spinning reserve.

But my views are changing slightly on utility solar. Here's why. Solar farms have a practical lifespan of 20-30 years, and while they may be ugly, they are a light use of the land. Solar panels can crushed and hauled off to the landfill at end of their lifespan, with the aluminum frames, copper wire, and steel frames recovered as scrap. Once solar panels removed to the land, the parcels can be rededicated for purposes of agriculture or wildlife conservation.

In other words, utility solar conserves large parcels of lands for future generations, by only lightly developing the land. So it's not totally terrible idea. But a better investment is in roof-top solar, where solar can offset actual load on the grid, rather then feeding in low-value power into the grid.