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Sammy_Roth t1_j7vyt3a wrote

Reply to comment by mmahowald 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

Hey, that's a really interesting question, thank you! I hadn't heard that before about higher-altitude land, although some quick Googling lends credence: https://www.euronews.com/green/2021/06/04/the-high-altitude-solar-farm-floating-to-success.

Overall, though, I think climate is probably a much bigger factor -- see these NREL maps of U.S. solar resource, showing how much stronger it is in the desert Southwest than elsewhere: https://www.nrel.gov/gis/solar-resource-maps.html

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mmahowald t1_j7w0w6u wrote

that makes sense, and the maps make it pretty darned clear. :) I have some family in new mexico and now im recalling all the large empty, sunny land.

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