Solar power, widely seen as humanity's best hope for avoiding catastrophic climate change, can carry a heavy environmental cost, depending on where panels and transmission lines are built.
California has done a good job of protecting its public lands while facilitating solar development, but many residents are powering their homes with electricity from Nevada or private projects impacting wildlife habitats.
Several aggregators have contracts for power from projects that would impact natural areas significantly, like a Southern California project that would see 4,000 Joshua trees demolished.
California could meet its electricity needs by placing solar panels on contaminated sites, old mines, former farmlands, and parking lots, sparing pristine natural areas.
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