Activity 3.2.3.1 Solar Power and Energy Policy

 

1. Exploratory 

Based on the reading given by Mary Kelly shows how Georgia has put a tremendous amount of effort into making a large power solar plant farm. Moreover, other states have had their competition in wanting to become the largest solar plant farm in the country at least. However, despite California having the record for having the largest solar plant farm, when regarding Georgia there are different ways on why theirs is interesting. Based on the reading, the owners of the solar plant farms all seem to have the same mindset of wanting to save energy and save natural resources such as coal and other resources that are used up a lot by us. It is believed that by having new and better technology there would be a better outcome to save natural resources and help detain climate change. But, one of the issues given by a farmer named Will Harris states that there are pros and cons to building these sites regardless of whether or not it’s good for the environment. In the article he states that building these plant sites is good for the ecosystem regarding energy, but bad when it comes to the environment when building them. Will Harris later in the article goes on to explain how it’s magnificent for engineers to take light from the sun and put it through a wire, but when coming to the land it's dirt and dust and it’s not good for his farm. Moreover, Will Harris later goes on to explain that with time and having water put on these sites it’ll soon be back to normal with a sea of grass for his animals to rotate every now and then. Overall, Will Harris’s goal is to come to a symbiotic relationship where technology works with natural environments. And so with that said it’s a good thing coming to these relationships because according to Mary in the article it also states how most of the plants installed around the state helps their side businesses. For example, the Facebook Data Center which is being built not so far from Atlanta which would be in charge of representing 90% of Facebook’s energy demand. And so because of these relationships being made it’s a good sign because these plantations are spreading considering Georgia is known for its crops which are peanuts, corn, and cotton. 

2. Diagnostics

Knowing the amount of natural resources being used such as coal and fossil fuels, which then cause climate change, I believe that the reason for these projects is to stop the items from being used. Solar panels help in a lot of ways that not many people know, solar panels not only help store energy, but they also help in reducing greenhouse gasses and help with mitigating climate change, according to the website of Energy.gov. But when talking about the motives of Mary Kelly based on her article, the motive for this project seems to become the idea of being able to store the biggest projects wanting to be made by big companies. In the article it states that by making these large installments  it can be enough to give the same electricity as a small to a mid-size city. Furthermore, throughout the article this whole project seems to do more with wanting Facebook’s Data Center to be a success. Reason for this is because considering all the small issues and all the effort and funding put into this project, it's as if they want to see this as a test to see if they should continue down this path.

3. Cause and Effect

The cause and effect of what’s happening in Georgia allows us to look deeper into the individual citizens who own farms and what their opinions are on this matter. As stated before Will Harris is willing to get into a symbiotic agreement well both the solar plant installment and his farm benefit off of how things are rotated. Reason why Will Harris is a good example is because he was concerned with how things were looking for his environment regarding grass for his cattle. During the installment his land obviously was being destroyed and so because of that he was worried about how it would affect him. But with time when looking at the situation it was agreed that with time regarding his land being watered it would go back to normal and be able to rotate his animals keeping that land alive despite the panels being there. And as long as both things are rotating properly it works out for both Will Harris and the project made by the state of Georgia.

4. Priority

For this situation the main important issue made in this state is how much it’s wanting to expand. The problem with expanding is that their goal is to help save natural resources and basically save our planet by making solar power plant energies. However, when making those farms of solar panels; the more they make, the more land that’s ruined, and so one of the issues is helping the earth while destroying it at the same time. And it comes back to the interview with the farm and the panels because if this is an issue that they’re facing right now, how big of an issue will it become later on when they’re wanting to expand and build their company larger. It also follows how things will turn out when the land is destroyed, how they will solve the issue with wanting to restore everything they destroy and those are some topics that they would need to keep their eyes on.

5. Application

There are several people that people will see within how they work their relationship regarding the installment being built on their farms. In the article 2 farmers are interviewed and both have different opinions on how they’d be affected by this event. Will Harris gives his opinion on how things will work out if it benefits him with things going back to normal after the installments are made. However, with this other farmer whose name is Mike Newberry he feels skeptical about this whole process and thinks about how things will work out if in the future there are more farmers like him who feel as if the whole process being made will just degrade his progress of being a farmer. Overall, both of these farmers share concerns with overall their land being destroyed and technically not getting anything back out of the outcome.

6. Critical

Over everything that was stated above is that these events are being exposed to small issues which could then sum up to bigger problems that could occur for them to stop doing what they’re doing. Because things are looking like the more good they want to do the more bad they’re causing and leaving behind.

Citations:

Hsu, Andrea, and Mary Louise Kelly. “How Georgia Became a Surprising Bright Spot in the U.S. Solar Industry.” NPR, NPR, 24 June 2019, https://www.npr.org/2019/06/24/733795962/how-georgia-became-a-surprising-bright-spot-in-the-u-s-solar-industry. 

days, Sumit ChakrabartiSince the early. “Top 10 Biggest Solar Farms in the USA 2021.” SolarFeeds Magazine, 8 Feb. 2022, https://www.solarfeeds.com/mag/solar-farms-in-the-usa/. 

“Solar Energy, Wildlife, and the Environment.” Energy.gov, https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/solar-energy-wildlife-and-environment#:~:text=As%20a%20renewable%20source%20of,humans%2C%20wildlife%2C%20and%20ecosystems.