Assessing the potential for greater solar development in West Texas, USA

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dc.creatorDevitt, D.A.
dc.creatorYoung, Michael H.
dc.creatorPierre, J.P.
dc.date.accessioned2021-01-19T02:56:49Z
dc.date.available2021-01-19T02:56:49Z
dc.date.issued2020-05-13
dc.description.abstractAs population and economies continue to grow on a global scale, so too does the demand for energy. To improve reliability and independence of energy supplies, the U.S. and many other countries are seeking internally-sourced renewable energy; solar is one such renewable-energy source that meets these criteria. However, all energy sources exert some environmental impacts. In the case of solar, direct impacts stem mostly from alteration of land needed to host infrastructure. Understanding the environmental upside and downside potential of solar energy systems allows a more comprehensive, side-by-side comparison with different energy sources. In this article, we focus on the solar energy potential of West Texas, USA, a large arid to semi-arid region with a rural population and favorable climatic conditions. Texas is an interesting and important region to study given its unregulated and independent grid operation and the additional (and substantial) sources of regionally produced energy. Herein, we assess the geographic and environmental attributes, constraints to (e.g., incoming solar radiation, slope, habitats, ecoregion, water availability, etc.), and the potential environmental impacts on land resources from utility-scale installations of different types of solar energy generation systems. Our assessment points to the balance needed to expand solar energy to gain flexibility in energy sourcing on the one hand, while carefully considering future locations and technology to avoid regional impacts to land and environmental resources.en_US
dc.description.departmentOffice of the VP for Researchen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/2152/84317
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.26153/tsw/11305
dc.publisherEnergy Strategy Reviewsen_US
dc.relation.ispartofPlanet Texas 2050 - Published Researchen_US
dc.rights.restrictionOpenen_US
dc.subjectSolar radiationen_US
dc.subjectHabitatsen_US
dc.subjectWateren_US
dc.subjectBrownfieldsen_US
dc.titleAssessing the potential for greater solar development in West Texas, USAen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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