Report: Maryland Can Meet Renewable Solar Energy Goals through Wise Land Use

巴尔的摩县 & City Pilot Study Shows Extensive Opportunities for Solar Placement on Degraded Lands, 工业场所, 屋顶, and Future Solar Parking Canopies

安纳波利斯, 医学博士-今日, Chesapeake Conservancy’s Conservation Innovation Center (CIC) released a new report:  Optimal Solar Siting for Maryland: A Pilot for 巴尔的摩县 and City. Using geospatial analysis, 该报告确定了最佳太阳能站点，并回答了关键问题:是否有足够的最佳站点可以满足马里兰州的太阳能可再生能源目标?

分析结果表明，巴尔的摩县和市在退化土地和未充分利用的工业用地上提供了广泛的太阳能安置机会, on rooftops of commercial, 工业, and residential buildings, and for the development of solar 停车的树冠.

Maryland is one of 30 states in the United States with a Renewable Portfolio Standard, a mandate to increase electricity production from renewable energy sources. 马里兰州的规定要求公用事业公司出售的电力中有50%来自可再生能源, 有14.5%来自太阳能. To meet this goal, the state will need 6 times current solar energy production. Siting of solar energy development is an increasing concern, given the rapid increase in solar energy capacity 要求.

太阳能装置包括小型屋顶光伏系统和中型分布式发电装置，这些装置在当地使用能源，并将多余的能量反馈给电网, to large ground-mounted installations that sell energy directly to utilities. 州长的可再生能源开发和选址特别工作组估计，满足该州RPS目标所需的土地将需要7,000和35,000 acres of land across the state.

“这份报告是一个及时的提醒，我们可以在温室气体减排和环境保护目标上取得真正的进展，实现智能太阳能选址政策的双赢。,” said Secretary Ben Grumbles, Maryland Department of the Environment and chair of the state’s Climate Change Commission.  “我们可以通过利用屋顶来扩大我们州本土的清洁和可再生能源供应, 棕色地带, 同时避开优质农田、生态敏感的土地和森林，这些土地和森林也为马里兰人提供了清洁的空气和水.”

“我们对太阳能发展机会的分析旨在确定足够的地点，以实现巴尔的摩县和市在该州可再生能源投资组合标准太阳能目标中的份额. Based on energy consumption, 这是1,967 GWh/year of electricity, about 18% of the statewide goal of 9,000 GWh/year in electricity from solar,十大赌博正规老平台区保护创新中心技术副总裁苏珊·明尼迈耶说. “我们发现的最佳地点远远超过需求，足以产生22,789吉瓦时/年的电力. 事实上，只有8个.仅在最佳地点上，就需要证明6%的最佳地点是可行的，以满足巴尔的摩县和市的太阳能需求份额. 对于最佳和首选的地面站点，只需7%的站点是可行的.”

“我们的分析表明，通过巴尔的摩县和市的最佳选址，扩大太阳能开发的重大机会, making use of rooftops, 停车的树冠, and degraded lands to grow Maryland’s solar electricity generation,” continued Minnemeyer. “在最佳地点为太阳能开发提供奖励可能是最大限度地减少太阳能所需土地数量并避免开发潜在不利影响的最佳方法之一.”

“Although we strongly support renewable energy, our members were concerned from the get-go that without siting guidance or incentives, farm and resource land would be the primary target for these land-intensive projects,” said Teresa Moore, executive director of the Valleys 规划 Council, who commissioned the study. “And that is exactly what we have seen in 巴尔的摩县. 在社区太阳能试点项目的头三年里，几乎所有的应用都集中在优质农田上, and there’s little to no activity on optimal sites. We’d like to see Maryland follow the example of states like New Jersey, 在哪里，最佳的太阳能站点已经在全州范围内被绘制出来，并在太阳能项目审查中纳入了一个排名系统. 这有助于实现马里兰州太阳能立法中的其他目标，该立法呼吁为中低收入居民创造就业机会和福利, 除了避免与长期建立的项目和政策发生冲突，以保护我们最好的农场和森林土地.”

Land use concerns related to solar energy development

关于地面公用事业规模和社区太阳能的主要土地使用问题是主要农田的损失和不利的环境影响，如森林的损失, 湿地, or other ecologically important areas. 优质农业用地的流失威胁着马里兰州的农业经济和粮食生产能力. 近几十年来，为阻止因住房开发而导致的农田流失，已经做了重要的工作, 现在，许多人担心太阳能扩张的新威胁将加剧将生产性土地转化为其他用途的压力.

What sites are optimal for solar energy?

太阳能在建筑环境中的一个关键好处是，它可以与家庭的生产利用一起开发, commercial buildings, 或办公室, and provides benefits such as reducing energy costs and climate benefits. 太阳能停车棚通过阴凉的停车场和电动汽车充电站增强了停车场的功能. 在退化土地上安装的地面太阳能装置使废弃土地重新投入生产利用. 在人口更密集的地区增加太阳能的使用也提供了宝贵的就业来源. 向低收入和中等收入用户开放的社区太阳能项目可以帮助确保所有人都能获得太阳能的成本节约效益.

方法

这些方法首先确定了所有潜在的太阳能站点——那些符合允许太阳能开发的法律(分区)和技术标准的站点. 下一个, potential solar sites were ranked on a range of environmental, 股本, and efficiency criteria to determine optimal siting. Optimal sites were either in the built environment – on rooftops, 停车场, and degraded or contaminated lands.

The CIC also identified a second tier of locations, preferred ground-mounted sites, that would avoid land use tradeoffs with agriculture or environmentally valuable lands. 研究人员分析了面积大于5英亩、可支持至少1兆瓦太阳能发电能力的地块. 森林覆盖率高的地块或目标生态区域(国家确定为高度优先保护的土地)被筛选出来，以避免不利的环境影响. 下一个, parcels were evaluated for prime farmland soils, and those mainly on prime soils were screened out. The remaining sites for preferred ground-mounted solar, are on marginal soils without forest cover and have low ecological importance, allowing for solar development with the fewest land use tradeoffs.

To read the study in its entirety, visit http://vbjr.hg68333.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/CC-Report-Solar-Siting-方法-FINAL.pdf. To view the accompanying web app, visit http://cicgis.org/portal/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=d03cf1533ee94deeabb2c5cece0e2561. The Valleys 规划 Council received funding for the study, 方法, and model from The Ludwig and Nancy Sternberger Charitable Foundation.

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