Desert destroyed: the dark side of the solar manufacturing industry?

Thousands of acres of land put solar panels in the California Mojave Desert like mushrooms to benefit the environment.

However, this can break the desert ecosystem and the plants that live there. It is also a concern for many policy makers and scientists, including Darren Sandquist - biologist at Cal State Fullerton. For years, Sandquist has studied the unpredictable changes that appear in the desert due to the presence of railroad tracks.

Such structures alter the direction of the flow of water down the drain and the canals, altering the flow on the ground. On the contrary, this changes both the plant form in Mojave as well as where it grows. The same effect occurs in places where wind and solar light projects are produced.

Sandquist said: 'Certainly the ecosystem will be ruined. I think this is a trade-off that we must accept. It is part of becoming less dependent on the land, but relying more on wind and solar energy. '

Sandquist hopes designers of wind and solar energy projects can avoid the biggest harmful effects. He said: 'I think they should consider how to redistribute resources in general that will affect the ecosystem.'

The train line he is studying near Kelso station has existed for a century, he also studied the transformation of the flora from that time. Plant species, where they grow and even their size are affected. Similar effects can be observed on highways.

Sandquist said: 'Anyone who drives through the desert can see the size of the plant. Right next to the roads, trees become much bigger. '

Such changes tend to cause changes in both animal populations, although according to Sandquist, the determinations of impacts on animals in this region are incomplete. Not only are new roads causing impact, but also dirt is a problem when desert plants hold a fixed ground that is cut away for expensive installation of solar energy production systems. God. This can be harmful for desert environments that are very fragile.

Desert destroyed: the dark side of the solar manufacturing industry. (Photo: lifecorner.vzone.vn)

He added: 'Studies have also shown that leaf surface dust significantly reduces plant photosynthesis. Therefore the productivity of this process is also reduced. ' One of his great worries is the concern that very few of us know its existence.

He said: 'One of the most important living structures on the surface is the biological crust - the network of cyanobacteria and lichens. They can be affected or even destroyed when stepped on. They do not eat more than a few millimeters down in the face. Only in that position can they keep the dirt and silt in place '. Losing this shell will lead to terrible dust storms.

Even small changes to the desert solar project can protect many species of organisms living there. For example, instead of building roads, operators of energy collectors sometimes need this maintenance to consider buying larger cars to move without harming the trees. exist.

'I really feel that the ecosystem can stand up if we only drive occasionally' instead of eliminating large areas of vegetation to build roads.

Huge solar collectors have great development potential in Mojave. It is estimated that between 10,000 and 160,000 desert samples are needed to achieve the goal of increasing renewable energy from 33% to 2020 . 14 solar projects and 5 wind power projects have been proposed to carry out over 42,000 acres in a 600,000-acre area, formerly known as Catellus, in the middle Mojave area and Joshua National Park.

Political groups are very resentful, especially the Wildlands Conservancy control group that provided $ 40 million to buy land for conservation purposes. California Sen. Dianne Feinstein recently announced a new effort to preserve all or part of the area by declaring itself a national symbol.

Sandquist said: 'Some people will argue that desert creatures are easy to recover. But in fact they are vulnerable and sensitive because they already live on the brink - limited water, hot temperatures during the day but very cold at night at certain times. '