Written by By Kyle Lindemann, CNN
Research shows that cities like Pittsburgh and Baltimore were the most desirable locations for solar farms, with Houston and Seattle close behind. But cities seeking solar farms may have to settle for lower-profile, less-visible outposts, according to a new survey by Skylogic Research , an aerospace industry research and consulting firm.
This is because a solar-panel-equipped airport or state highway expansion project often casts a shadow over the already-blighted housing near its entrance, denuding neighborhoods of their sunlight. This is contributing to a shortage of land in many cities, according to Skylogic Research.
Meanwhile, low-level solar projects, such as street-light installations, may be able to compete with the sun without making an adverse impact on nearby housing, it said.
A solar panel on top of a traffic sign in Seattle, Washington.
According to the report, the number of solar power projects under construction grew more than 5,000% in the past 10 years, and while solar and wind power have combined to reach 26% of the US energy mix — that percentage is expected to rise to 30% by 2030, Skylogic Research says.
“In today’s energy market, there is an intense competition for solar rooftops, and an even bigger battle for commercial and residential rooftops,” said Mark Fisher, the CEO of Skylogic Research. “The result is a dramatic increase in the number of projects with only a few blocks of roof.”
Skylogic researched locations where large-scale solar energy projects could be placed in the US, but the majority of these projects were on industrial sites — making it difficult to find rooftops available for solar to rotate over.
While solar photovoltaic (PV) farms are a growing area of development in the world, the US has the highest percentage of commercial rooftops in the world, with 55.7% of the total, while India has the lowest share at 23.1%, according to “The Solar Roofscapes: End Users, Manufacturers, and Business and Community Decision Makers Report,” published by SolarCity.
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“Why sit on a solar farm when you can tower over everyone and their dog at McDonald’s? And why build an enormous light-station in residential neighborhoods that you might then want to lease to another company for solar?” Fisher said.
Existing U.S. solar and wind developments cover a total of 40,839 megawatts — one megawatt of electricity is equal to 1,000 kilowatts. If major cities, such as Chicago, Pittsburgh and Boston, could handle 1 megawatt of projects, that number could double the country’s current solar and wind capacity, according to the research.