Comment by rootusrootus
4 hours ago
Optimistically, I would expect to see more panels in raw numbers up north due to necessarily overbuilding the capacity to account for fewer sun-hours per year.
4 hours ago
Optimistically, I would expect to see more panels in raw numbers up north due to necessarily overbuilding the capacity to account for fewer sun-hours per year.
Well also the desert southwest is still relatively sparsely populated, so rooftop solar won't show up as much on a map like this. Plus their power is cheap(er) than CA.
But yeah, you'd expect some bigger utility-scale installations.
Many utility scale solar plants are indeed being built out in the desert. The Antelope Valley and along the 15 corridor in particular, as they have the power distribution lines already in place. However even along 80 you’ll see a few.
They tend to be where high voltage distribution lines leave high demand urban areas, and the land gets cheap enough.
A lot of other places just need some high tension power lines, and it will happen. Permitting for those is a nightmare.