Sammy_Roth t1_j7vsa2x wrote on February 9, 2023 at 7:31 PM

Reply to comment by vitalisys in I’m Sammy Roth, an L.A. Times reporter trying to figure out where to put all the solar and wind farms we'll need to fight climate change. Is farmland the answer? AMA! by losangelestimes

Gosh, this is such a good question -- and a hard one to answer. The decision-making for this stuff is just so, so diffuse, as it sounds like you're aware. Long distance transmission lines, which we'll likely need a lot more of, are especially hard because of all the private landowners and state and federal agencies involved. See, for instance, this piece I wrote last year about the 15-year process of securing all the leases and approvals needed to build a 730-mile power line to get wind energy from Wyoming to California: https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2022-08-23/wyoming-clean-energy-california.

Is there any hope for a shift away from chronic gridlock? I'm not sure. But trying to help figure that out is why I launched Repowering the West, an ongoing reporting project: https://www.latimes.com/projects/repowering-the-west/. Hope you'll check it out!

frzn_dad t1_j7vwacz wrote on February 9, 2023 at 7:55 PM

Why isn't all this renewable infrastructure being built in California? Why export power generation and its down sides to places like Wyoming while reaping all the benefits.

Sammy_Roth t1_j7vzv1n wrote on February 9, 2023 at 8:16 PM

Hey, this is a very good question -- thank you for asking. Part of the answer for wind power is the windiest spots in California have already been built out for decades -- the San Gorgonio Pass outside Palm Springs, for instance. Not that there aren't more places wind can be built, but the most economic remaining spots in the American West -- with the strongest winds -- are typically out of state. I get into that more in the Wyoming story: https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2022-08-23/wyoming-clean-energy-california.

With solar, it's definitely much more of a story about developers finding it easier to build in other states -- faster permitting, less environmental opposition, etc. Not that plenty of solar isn't still being built in California, and that there aren't conflicts and critics elsewhere. But your question gets at one of the real tensions here that needs to be worked through. Lots and lots of renewable energy needs to be built, to help maintain a habitable planet for all of us -- now how do we equitably share the costs and benefits of the energy transition?

Trying to help people think through those questions is why I launched Repowering the West: https://www.latimes.com/projects/repowering-the-west/. I hope you'll consider following along!