There are vast expanses of the California desert that are empty and offer little incentive for businesses to expand on them. However, a new study commissioned by the government concluded that many of these desert regions are prime locations for the development of utility-scale photovoltaic systems. Issued by the U.S. Department of Interior and Energy, the report stated that solar panel systems could one day cover 80 percent of the land in the Riverside East zone, a 202,000-acre, U-shaped curve of land that is situated between the Joshua Tree National Park and Blythe; moreover, the report ultimately calls for the installation of between 18,000 and 32,000 megawatts of solar power.
An uptick in solar installations in the area could potentially bring 11,000 permanent jobs to the state's ravaged labor market, and pump $424 million into the local economy, the report avers. Riverside East is the largest area of any location the report discusses; two large-scale solar panel systems have already been approved for the area, with two more proposed.
Some residents and lawmakers in the area are concerned that the solar panels would obstruct views of the now-untouched land, but others praised the report as a way the U.S. can remain globally competitive in solar, while keeping its utility-scale photovoltaic arrays out of major cities and densely-populated areas.
No comments:
Post a Comment