{"id":136762,"date":"2023-11-07T00:04:42","date_gmt":"2023-11-07T05:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/?p=136762"},"modified":"2023-11-06T15:37:15","modified_gmt":"2023-11-06T20:37:15","slug":"stop-clearing-thousands-of-acres-to-build-solar-panels-harvard-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/stop-clearing-thousands-of-acres-to-build-solar-panels-harvard-study\/","title":{"rendered":"Stop clearing thousands of acres to build solar panels: Harvard study"},"content":{"rendered":"

Solar panels have contributed to deforestation, report finds<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

While \u201cmore solar energy\u201d is needed in Massachusetts, deforestation is not the way to go, according to a study from Harvard University.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince 2010, over 5,000 acres of natural and working lands have been destroyed for solar development in Massachusetts, resulting in the emission of over half a million metric tons of CO\u2082\u2014 more than the annual emissions of 100,000 passenger cars,\u201d Mass Audobon stated<\/a> in a summary of its study with Harvard Forest.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder current siting practices, thousands of acres of forests, farms, and other carbon-rich landscapes are being converted to host large-scale solar,\u201d the report<\/a> stated.<\/p>\n

The removal of trees undercuts the state\u2019s requirement to reduce emissions by 2050. This is because trees are an effective carbon removal tool. \u201cBy 2030, climate-polluting emissions in Massachusetts must be reduced by 50 percent relative to 1990 levels, and by 75 percent by 2040, on the way to net-zero emissions by 2050,\u201d the study stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause it is not feasible to eliminate fossil fuel use across the entire economy by 2050, reaching our net-zero goal will also require removing carbon from the atmosphere, to counteract our remaining [greenhouse gas] emissions,\u201d the study stated.<\/p>\n

Harvard Forest\u2019s research director Jonathan Thompson told\u00a0The College Fix<\/em> via email that energy development can protect forests while using solar.<\/p>\n

“Massachusetts can meet its goal of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 while simultaneously protecting crucial forests and farmlands,” Thompson said on Nov. 1.\u00a0 “We identify enough developed area to site 25GW in ways that are ecologically and economically attractive.”<\/p>\n

“I think of it as a good news story\u2014we do not need to choose between forests and solar, we can have both,” he told The Fix<\/em>. “And I think we can meet the Net-Zero goal if we focus simultaneously on developing green energy and protecting forests.”<\/p>\n

MORE:<\/strong> UVA explores options to be fossil fuel free by 2050<\/a><\/p>\n

The report included suggestions such as placing solar panels on rooftops, parking lots, and developed land, a politically popular idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver 85 percent of surveyed residents in Massachusetts believe that solar should be built on rooftops, parking lots, landfills, and other developed areas, rather than on cleared forests and on top of productive farmland,\u201d the study stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrioritizing solar with the lowest impacts to nature\u201d and \u201cinvesting in approaches that will reduce costs of rooftop and canopy solar projects,\u201d were also part of the policy proposals, according to a summary<\/a> from\u00a0The Harvard Gazette,<\/em>\u00a0a publication of the school’s media team.<\/p>\n

The study also noted that subsidies available to produce solar power from the Inflation Reduction Act, a massive spending bill signed by President Joe Biden in 2022.<\/p>\n

However, one think tank shared its concerns with\u00a0The Fix<\/em> about the reliability and benefits of solar energy and criticized the subsidization of it.<\/p>\n

“For decades, solar power has been highly subsidized and its use even mandated in many states, yet none of that can overcome its inherent weaknesses,” Paige Lambermont, a research fellow with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, told The Fix<\/em> via a media statement.<\/p>\n

“Solar power works when the sun is shining, and then quickly stops producing as soon as the sun goes down. As a result, it is unreliable and only provides electricity on an intermittent basis,” she said. “Because of this, it poses issues for grid operators who need to quickly increase the production of other facilities to compensate for the solar facility’s sudden drop in production.”<\/p>\n

“Policymakers should get rid of government meddling, such as the subsidies in [the Inflation Reduction Act],” Lambermont said.<\/p>\n

“Reliable power is a policy choice. So is unreliable power.”<\/u><\/p>\n

MORE:<\/strong> UW historian ‘concerned’ about climate change debate<\/a><\/p>\n

IMAGE: KelaVI\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

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