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Aug. 12, 2024 Editor, The News-Gazette: The editorial in last week’s paper does not discuss how much land is required to achieve the Virginia Clean Economy Act goals. How much land is required to replace one typical 1,358 megawatt gas-fired electrical plant with solar panels?
A solar panel’s capacity factor converts its variable production to daily average production. The U.S. Energy Information Agency gives the winter capacity factor in Virginia as 0.125. Thus, on an average winter day, 10,864 megawatts of solar capacity generate the same energy as one 1,358 megawatt electrical plant. In large solar facilities, 1 megawatt of panels requires about 12.5 acres. This means 135,800 acres, or 212 square miles, of solar facilities are required. Rockbridge County has 130 square miles of agricultural land. If we covered all the agricultural land in our county, we could still not replace a single power plant on an average winter day.
Meeting Dominion’s projected energy demand in 2038 requires about 3,360 square miles of solar facilities which is 30% of the available farmland in the commonwealth.
Electrical systems are designed based on precise second by second balancing of demand and generation, not averages. A sizing estimate based on an average winter day means rolling blackouts on the days when production is below average.
Until we quantify the area required for solar panels, transmission lines, energy storage, and control systems and test this against historical weather, we will not understand our energy future system and its negative impact on soil, water and agriculture.
Our best contributions to the commonwealth’s environmental and economic challenges leverage our strengths like magnificent agricultural soil, abundant rainfall, temperate climate, and skilled farmers. Let us not trade something we do well and for which we are well suited for something which performs better in different climates and soil conditions. STEVEN D. HART, Ph.D. P.E. Kerrs Creek
