Large-Scale Solar Arrives in Alameda County

Perhaps it takes a broad interpretation of the concept of human-powered exploration to relate it to land use issues surrounding solar development in eastern Alameda County, but I'm okay with that. This story appeared on A-1 of the San Francisco Chronicle on Saturday, September 10. It serves as a nice follow-up to my December 2010 cover story "Oakland Invades the Desert" for the East Bay Express, as it addresses many of the same debates: Where do we build solar plants, and what sort of ground are we going to cover up? There are always trade-offs. In this case, instead of desert tortoise habitat it's raptors and farmland. A story I wrote recently for Sierra magazine (coming in November) is third in line, addressing a sort of second phase of large-scale solar development where solar developers and environmental groups attempt to work together to avoid any such impacts by focusing on previously degraded lands. Enjoy.