First proposed in 2012, the Western Solar Plan from the Bureau of Land Management aims to facilitate the development of utility-scale solar energy projects on public lands.
The Biden administration has updated the plan, with several proposed options that would divert anywhere from 8 million to up to 55 million acres of public lands across 11 Western states to be made available for solar energy.
For utility-scale solar installations, a commonly used estimate is that 1 acre of solar panels can accommodate about 1,000 panels, considering the necessary spacing and infrastructure. This estimate can vary based on the design and layout specifics of the installation but serves as a good baseline for calculation.
To meet only Los Angeles’s annual electricity consumption of approximately 26 billion kWh, it would require about 42.25 million solar panels.
A typical 300 watt solar panel uses approximately 0.1 to 0.2 grams of silver per watt of solar cell, with roughly 30 to 60 grams of silver per panel. How much silver would it take to manufacture enough solar panels to power Los Angeles? 81,502,142 troy ounces, roughly 2,535,058 kilos of silver.
While the efficiency of solar panels has been increasing over the years, this plan from the BLM is pretty absurd.
From the ZeroHedge Article:
This plan is part of the Biden administration’s goal of generating 25 gigawatts (GW) of electricity from wind and solar on public lands by 2025—and generating 100 percent “renewable” electricity by 2035—solar panels would need to be sited on 700,000 acres of public land.
The sheer scope of the BLM plan—designating tens of millions of acres for solar development when the agency says 700,000 acres would suffice to meet Biden administration goals—is a red flag for many communities.