Sucking Up Resources

Fun fact - solar farms use resources other than the sun to collect and process power. This particular resource is limited, unlike the sun. It's water- more specifically groundwater. 

Don't feel bad if you did not know that solar power plants need water to run; that is not something that is readily advertised when solar energy comes into discussion. Solar energy is usually advertised as being more or less completely clean energy and the impacts and potential impacts of solar farms are often not discussed. What people generally come away with is that solar energy is nice, clean, and has a minimal impact on the environment while traditional fossil fuel-based energy is bad. 

So, how much water do solar farms use? Solar power technology generally uses about 20 gallons per megawatt hour for cleaning solar collection and reflection surfaces. Take a look at your water bill for comparison and it becomes apparent how much water that actually is. You will very quickly come to find that a large enough solar farm could significantly cut down the water supply of nearby towns or cities such that the residents would be impacted. 

Solar farms, also called solar projects, are generally set up in areas where the ground is not suitable for farming or other agricultural activities, so in theory the groundwater usage may not be a huge issue. However, there are a few additional things about solar farms and the areas that they inhabit that you should know. 

Yes, solar farms are set up in areas that are not fertile and cannot be used for farming or development, but this does not mean that the area is uninhabited. Now, a large amount of ground has been disturbed and covered, displacing whatever was living there and taking water from the ecosystem and nearby communities. Given the nature of the ideal areas for solar farms to be set up, groundwater is not a resource that is readily available so the repercussions could be major as both the ecosystem and human communities have the potential to be seriously negatively impacted. 

In fact, a town in California has recently been suffering from the impacts of being too close to a solar farm and their groundwater supply significantly decreased. Located near/in the desert of California, it's not exactly cost effective or feasible for the town to have water moved from another area to replace the groundwater that has been consumed by the solar farm. Currently, the situation is relatively dire with residents needing to either come up with the money to move or have water brought in because the solar plant is steadily depleting the local groundwater supply. 

Nuclear energy may actually be the way of the future over solar. 

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