Renewable Building Developments

The desert may look open and empty, but it’s not.  The desert is a delicate habitat to birds, insects, plants, some of which are endangered.  To avoid making allies into enemies, Google is collaborating with leading environmental groups.

Google’s mapping tool shows renewable-power developers  where they can and can’t not build.  The National Audubon Society and the Natural Resources Defense Council pulled together these maps.  Requires Googles Earth mapping tool.

California’s Pristine Deserts & Solar Energy

There are 80 solar projects planned in the California deserts.  These projects will cover 700,000 acres (over 1,000 square miles).  Most of these projects are located on pristine BLM publicly-owned lands and all the projects have already been given the right-of-way grants.

The impact on rare plants, vegetation, animals and majestic landscapes is hard to comprehend.  The solar construction, if implemented, would severely impact dozen of rare species and thousands of acres of pristine land.  Indirect impact from access roads, power lines, and invasive plants broaden the amount of land destroyed beyond the project’s size.

The California Native Plant Society (CNPS) recommends that government agencies need to discuss alternative locations for solar thermal plants.  At minimum project impacts need to be appropriately mitigated and regulators fully evaluate their impact on the ecosystem.

The above information is from an editorial by Nick Jensen, CNPS Rare Plant Botanist, in the CNPS January-March 2009 newsletter.

To add to this we feel that any CSP solar thermal plants built in the California deserts be required to have molten salt storage capability.  Otherwise why build these plants in the desert and not target rooftop installations for photovoltaic energy?

Bencia’s 1980’s Solar Neighborhood

From 1981 to 1985, the Southhampton Company built 258 solar homes. The sub division became known as Solar Village. All the homes featured solar water heaters, six inch walls, R30 attic insulation and dual pane thermal windows. Even the landscaping fit into the green lifestyle. There were deciduous trees planted on a southern exposure while evergreens and shrubs to deflect the north winds.

Solar Village, which has an active system with pumps, most solar systems today are passive. Many of the Fiberglas tanks storing hot water sprang leaks from cracking. Solar Villages systems automatically switch to the grid if the stored solar heat was insufficient. Subsequently many homeowners decided not to spend the money on repairs. Approximately 75 homes still have a working solar heat system, but it was the component failures that caused homeowners to remove or disconnect their systems.

Related Articles:   SFGATE |  CA Solar Center

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Bencia’s 1980’s Solar Neighborhood

From 1981 to 1985, the Southampton Company built 258 solar homes.  The sub division became known as Solar Village.  All the homes featured solar water heaters, six inch walls, R30 attic insulation and dual pane thermal windows.  Even the landscaping fit into the green lifestyle. There were deciduous trees planted on a southern exposure while evergreens and shrubs to deflect the north winds.

Solar Village, which has an active system with pumps, most solar systems today are passive.  Many of the Fiberglas tanks storing hot water sprang leaks from cracking.  Solar Villages systems automatically switch to the grid if the stored solar heat was insufficient.  Subsequently many homeowners decided not to spend the money on repairs.  Approximately 75 homes still have a working solar heat system, but it was the component failures that caused homeowners to remove or disconnect their systems.

Related Articles:  SF Chronicle | CA Solar Center | News Video