Rural solar power generation company runs away

Is misinformation turning rural landowners unfairly against renewables?

But misinformation spread by groups like Citizens for Responsible Solar is turning rural landowners unfairly against renewables, says Skyler Zunk, an Interior Department official under President Donald Trump and chief executive of Energy Right, a conservative-leaning nonprofit that supports solar projects that preserve ecosystems.

Are solar projects causing tensions in rural areas?

Construction of the first large solar projects, including Solar Star, completed in 2015, drew little opposition. They were sited mostly in remote areas such as the California desert. Now, tensions are rising as the sector plans bigger projects and reaches into more populated rural areas unfamiliar with solar.

Could a solar plant power a 25,000 home in Page County?

An energy company offered to lease Houser's property in rural Page County to build a solar plant that could power about 25,000 homes. It was a good offer, Houser says. More money than he could make growing hay and selling cattle. "The idea of being able to keep the land as one parcel and not have it split up was very attractive," Houser says.

Why did Page County stop a solar project?

A group of locals eventually joined forces with a nonprofit called Citizens for Responsible Solar to stop the project on Houser's land and pass restrictions effectively banning big solar plants from being built in the area. Houser says Page County residents who fought solar development were driven by a not-in-my-back-yard mentality. "It's pretty.

Why did urban grid abandon Houser's solar project in 2022?

The battle finally ended in 2022. After Page County adopted a solar ordinance, Urban Grid abandoned Houser's project. The new law doesn't outright ban big solar plants, but it imposes so many restrictions that there's no place to build, says Peter Candelaria, chief executive of Urban Grid.

Will solar power reach 45% by 2050?

Solar currently makes up 3% of U.S. electricity supply and could reach 45% by 2050 to meet the Biden administration’s goals to eliminate or offset emissions by 2050, according to the Department of Energy. To get there, the U.S. solar industry needs a land area twice the size of Massachusetts, according to DOE. And not any land will do, either.