Across the U.S., critics are pressuring public officials to stop or stall new solar projects, often citing unfounded health concerns.
  • _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    13·
    5 days ago

    Probably by the very same idiots who are militantly anti-vaccine and refused to take even basic precautions during a global pandemic.

  • UpperBroccoli@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    5·
    4 days ago

    The only reliable way to get rid of this kind of nimby opposition to clean energy projects is to let the nimbys have a part of the cake. It works for wind energy turbines here in Germany, it should work for solar, too. When people get a share if the money, all concerns magically vanish…

  • Buffalox@lemmy.world
    6·
    5 days ago

    The county’s medical director has claimed that large solar facilities are a potential health risk for residents.

    That is outright insane. The article goes more into why he/she is saying that:

    the county’s medical director who, in a memo, warned of the threat of noise, visual pollution and potential sources of contamination.

    So how does a perfectly stable construction create harmful noise? I bet it makes less noise in the wind than trees do.
    And if visual pollution is harmful, USA sure has a major problem, because I’ve never been anywhere with more visual pollution than USA.
    Advertising everywhere, insane light pollution, even just the wires hanging in the streets, that should have been dug down since the 60’s. Cities have little architectural regulation or plan, and shopping areas are a complete mess of either clashing architectures or just but ugly concrete buildings.
    And WTF is he on about with potential sources of contamination??? That’s just a completely made up argument from ignorance.

    Here they call it iron fields, and AFAIK it’s all about them being ugly, and has nothing to do with weirdo health claims.
    Personally I’d prefer the fields around our house to not become solar farms, but from a health perspective, I bet it’s actually safer, as there are no toxic chemicals used.
    While ordinary fields are generally sprayed with manure, insecticides and weedkillers which all contain toxins.

      • Buffalox@lemmy.world
        6·
        4 days ago

        We have 2 pretty big installations a few kilometers from where I live, I’ve never heard any noise from them.
        Silicon panels do not contain cadmium, and the amount of lead is microscopic, and probably less than what would be contained in the different substances used to maintain a normal field of crops, and certainly less than what is used over 20 years, that is the minimum durability for even cheap solar panels. Panels that are based on Cadmium are no longer used. (Except maybe in USA?)

        I have no idea why there would be lithium batteries that leak into the groundwater? Lithium is also not really toxic except above pretty high levels, and is already naturally in the groundwater in most places.
        In fact I live in the place in Denmark that has the most lithium in the groundwater, and I have never heard it mentioned as a problem. We can drink tap water without issue, and it’s even rated as way higher quality than bottled water.

        https://www.freeingenergy.com/are-solar-panels-really-full-of-toxic-materials-like-cadmium-and-lead/

        Even for the panels that use Cadmium, the Cadmium is encapsulated, and even in extreme landfill conditions, very little of it escapes into the environment.

        this is not conspiracy level stuff here

        Wrong, it absolutely is. it’s decidedly insane. I have never heard anyone here make any of those claims here, and I live in the best area of Denmark for solar power, so we have more solar power here than anywhere else in the country. We also have people that are a bit out there, but luckily they are not that far gone.