We hear a lot of crazy accusations traveling around the country, meeting with communities about wind and solar projects. One of the wildest assertions recently heard was in a small community where neighbors had become petrified after learning that their limited water supply would be impacted by the new solar project. They have been told, of course by opponents of renewable energy, that the panels needed to be cleaned twice a day. With water in demand and scarce supply, they were understandably upset. They brought those concerns to a public hearing making their local officials concerned as well.
As with some many other claims, the allegation is terrifying and 100% false. It’s plain to see that opponents target those areas most of concern, like water and the environment, and stir up communities using social media and the rumor mill.
Here are the facts:
Fact: Power generation historically used huge amounts of water, and still does – for “thermoelectric power”. The EPA studies how Americans use water and found that 45% of water use in our country (fresh water withdrawals) are to support “thermoelectric power.” That means power plants that use heat to create electricity and therefore require water for cooling. We are making progress reducing the need for water in electric power generation – and we’re doing that by switching to low-water use sources like renewable energy. (https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=50698)
Claim: “If we switch to solar power, billions of gallons of water will be needed to clean panels.”
Fact: Utility-scale solar uses little water in normal operations, as panels are not regularly cleaned as a part of maintenance and operations. Rainfall is generally sufficient to clean the panels and cleaning on a regular basis would not be cost-effective. (https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy19osti/73822.pdf)