The Solar Heist, or How I Got into the Solar Business, Part 9: Chico

On the next Probably True Solar Stories, "The Solar Heist" series continues. Charlie goes to Chico, California to hunt for "CATs," --certain awful things--buried at a landfill that’s about to become a new solar farm. Meanwhile, Mazz tries to calmly educate the solar farm’s opponents without doing ... certain awful things.

To catch up with the previous episodes:

• Listen to  Parts 1-6 here.
• Listen to Part 7 here.
• Listen to Part 8 here.

True Solar Takeaways

• As part of the solar project development process, solar project developers have to get approvals from authorities having jurisdiction, better known as the AHJs.
• The AHJs vary from county to county, but it's often the zoning board or planning commission.
• Zoning boards and planning commissions deliberate about their solar project approvals during public meetings that are often attended by residents who are concerned about the solar projects' effects on the land, agriculture, land value, and public health, as well as the environmental waste after the project's end-of-life.
• Here are some FAQs dramatized in this episode:
  • Do solar panels or projects cause cancer? No. Read this.
  • Do solar projects decrease land value? Not in Texas, a conservative state. Read this. There was also a recent NREL study that showed that solar projects had a negligible impact. 
  • Are mysterious activist groups spreading misinformation about solar?  Yes. Read this article. Are they backed by fossil fuel interests? Seems like it. 

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