Main photo voltaic builders, conservation teams, agricultural organizations, environmental and environmental justice teams, and tribal entities have introduced an settlement to advance large-scale U.S. photo voltaic growth whereas championing land conservation and supporting local people pursuits.
The settlement is the results of a 20-month “Photo voltaic Unusual Dialogue” convened by Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Atmosphere, the Photo voltaic Power Industries Affiliation (SEIA), and The Nature Conservancy (TNC).
Over the subsequent 10 years, U.S. photo voltaic vitality output is predicted to extend five-fold. The speedy improve in utility-scale photo voltaic additionally implies that the business should tackle varied points, together with agricultural land conversion, wildlife and habitat impacts, and neighborhood engagement. The Photo voltaic Unusual Dialogue settlement stresses that the event of huge photo voltaic initiatives should be clear, equitable and environment friendly and acknowledges that it will require many trade-offs.
Signatories to the Photo voltaic Unusual Dialogue settlement have dedicated to enhancing large-scale photo voltaic growth based mostly on the “3Cs”: local weather, conservation, and neighborhood.
- Local weather emphasizes minimizing carbon emissions via clear vitality sources, like photo voltaic vitality and different instruments, together with pure local weather options;
- Conservation seeks to attenuate impacts on pure and dealing lands; and
- Group commits to equitable distribution of renewable vitality venture advantages.
The signatories are convening six working teams that may tackle key points and alternatives together with neighborhood engagement, siting-related threat evaluation and decision-making, vitality and agricultural applied sciences, tribal relations, and coverage options.
These working teams will deal with advancing the 3Cs through improved public participation practices, photo voltaic siting mechanisms, regulation, monetary incentives, data instruments, and different means. The objective is to create finest practices that photo voltaic corporations, native governments, and different stakeholders can use to successfully website photo voltaic initiatives.
“Main U.S. photo voltaic initiatives are crucial to combating local weather change however are more and more opposed throughout the nation as a consequence of vital neighborhood and land conservation issues,” mentioned Stanford vitality scholar Dan Reicher, who launched and leads the Photo voltaic Unusual Dialogue. “It’s thrilling how motivated the events are to keep away from these conflicts and develop high-impact options – a triple play for local weather, conservation, and neighborhood.”
