How does large-scale solar energy development impact the environment?
The environmental effects of any activity become clear only when the activity is through a significantly large area or on a significantly large scale. Solar energy refers to the energy powered by the sun. People exploit the energy from the sun and utilize it to heat and production of electricity. According to McDonald, Fargione, Miller and Powell, concern over climate change triggered the United States to put up measures to regulate harmful emissions (McDonald, Fargione, Miller and Powell 1). The climate change recognizes the potential danger to human well-being and biodiversity triggering countries to reduce harmful emissions through changing fossil fuels to other sources of energy. Development and use of solar energy has helped in putting to remission harmful emissions. Development of solar energy has environment considerations, which include impacts on land use and land disturbance. The increase in the region needed by renewable energy development methods holds considerable threats to the natural environment. Solar energy production methods differ in substantial degrees in which production actions takes place. Large-scale solar energy development affects soil, air and water resources. Large-scale solar energy development affects vegetation, wildlife and wildlife habitat and other sensitive species.
The extent of land-use for divergent energy production techniques differs over 3 magnitude orders, starting 1.9–2.8 km2/ TW hr/yr for nuclear power to 788–1000 km2/TW hr/yr for biodiesel from soy (McDonald, Fargione, Miller and Powell 1). (See Fig 1 below).
Note: From McDonald, Robert I. Fargione, Joseph, Miller, William and Powell, Jimmy.” Energy Sprawl or energy efficiency: Climate policy impacts on natural habitats for the United States of America”. Climate Policy and Habitat, 4. 8 (2009): 4
Energy sprawl hold considerable threats with respect to loss of certain types of habitats since habitats differ in ecosystem process and species that they support (McDonald, Fargione, Miller and Powell 1). The bylaws of cap-and-trade systems, shifts in fossil fuels prices, and technological development in production of energy influences production of solar energy. Large-scale solar energy production helps to achieve the maximum required energy. As a result, the total land area required to produce solar energy for each production method increases in efforts of enacting the Low Carbon Economy.
Increased land use calls for relocation of types of habitats. Conservation of energy can reduce overall energy consumption thereby remitting the area impacted by energy development. According to McDonald, Fargione, Miller and Powell, the description of impact differs with energy production methods (McDonald, Fargione, Miller and Powell 2). Less compact means of energy generation do not automatically imply that a given energy development method is more harmful to biodiversity. Some techniques hold a vast spatial area affected to some extent. Scores of energy production methods hold numerous impacts on biodiversity that functions at divergent temporal and spatial scales. Biodiversity impacts include habitat fragmentation and replacement. Energy production effects on biodiversity not linked to land use intensity entails effects on quality of air, water quality, water flows and water consumption (McDonald, Fargione, Miller and Powell 3).
Some energy development methods clear all natural habitation within the impact area. Energy production also affects land-use in other areas when energy production plant takes place on a land initially used for agricultural production (McDonald, Fargione, Miller and Powell 4). The increased global demand for agricultural products impels indirect impacts on other lands. This causes agricultural expansion in areas far from the location of energy production plant. McDonald, Fargione, Miller and Powell assert that other energy production methods hold a comparatively small infrastructure trail as well as a bigger area impacted through habitat fragmentation and other secondary impacts on the wildlife (McDonald, Fargione, Miller and Powell 3).
Production methods that involve wells for example natural gas, petroleum and geothermal have five percent of their impact area affected through direct clearing. The ninety five percent of their impact sphere comes from fragmenting species and habitats avoidance behavior (McDonald, Fargione, Miller and Powell 4). Wind turbines have the same figure of up to five percent of their impact areas affected through undeviating clearing, while 97 percent of their region of impact comes from fragmenting habitats avoidance behavior (McDonald, Fargione, Miller and Powell 5).
Utility-scale of solar energy resources needs large areas to allow collection of solar radiation. The solar facilities obstruct existing use of land as well as the use of designated locales. Development of solar facilities on a huge piece of land needs grading and clearing which leads to soil compaction increased erosion and runoff as well as potential interference of channels of drainage (McDonald, Fargione, Miller and Powell 6). Central tower and parabolic trough systems use conventional steam crops to produce electricity. This process consumes water in order to cool thereby triggering augmented water demand that strain the available resources of water. Construction of solar energy formulates particulate matter. Clearing and utilization of large pieces of land for solar energy development plants affects wildlife and native vegetation.
Work Cited
McDonald, Robert I. Fargione, Joseph, Miller, William and Powell, Jimmy.” Energy Sprawl or energy efficiency: Climate policy impacts on natural habitats for the United States of America”. Climate Policy and Habitat, 4. 8 (2009): 1-10
