Quick Summary
- Siting solar on buildings, water reservoirs, contaminated and salt-affected lands could spare prime agricultural and natural spaces
- Underused lands in Central Valley alone could exceed 2025 electricity demands for California up to 13 times
Unconventional spaces could be put to use generating renewable energy while sparing lands that could be better used to grow food, sequester carbon and protect wildlife and watersheds, says a study led by the University of California, Davis.
These land-sparing spaces include: 1) built environments, such as rooftops 2) salt-affected land 3) contaminated land, and 4) water reservoirs with floating solar arrays, or 鈥渇loatovoltaics.鈥
, published today in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, notes that unique technical, economic and institutional barriers exist for each land type. But with more incentives that encourage renewable energy development on these lands, they could more than meet state energy demands.
Could exceed energy demand
The study focuses on the Central Valley, a globally significant agricultural region encompassing about 15 percent of California. The research found that using these land-sparing site types in the Central Valley alone could exceed the state鈥檚 projected 2025 electricity demands up to 13 times for photovoltaics and up to two times for concentrated solar power.
鈥淚n the era of looming land scarcity, we need to look at underused spaces,鈥 said corresponding author , an assistant professor in the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis. 鈥淭his paper provides a menu of sorts for farmers, agricultural stakeholders and energy developers to think about energy projects on spaces that don鈥檛 require us to lose prime agricultural and natural lands, which are becoming increasingly limited.鈥
Reducing environmental trade-offs
The study underscores the potential of siting renewable energy projects while largely avoiding the environmental trade-offs that often accompany energy sprawl and mitigation.
The study鈥檚 additional authors include lead author Madison Hoffacker of 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis and also affiliated with 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Berkeley and 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Riverside, and Michael Allen of 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Riverside.
The study was funded by Center for Conservation Biology at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Riverside; Schneider Climate and Energy Fellowship, through Stanford University and Audubon California; Agricultural Experiment Station Hatch Project; California Energy Commission; and 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis.
Media Resources
Rebecca R. Hernandez, 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis Land, Air and Water Resources, 530-752-5471 , rrhernandez@ucdavis.edu
Kat Kerlin, 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis News and Media Relations, 530-750-9195, kekerlin@ucdavis.edu