alt Hacker NewsIt’s unlikely strip malls and data centers will be built on the land, but utility solar PV is an acceptable use that requires no water, is beneficial to the local environment, and gives the land 20-30 years to recover from agricultural use.
It takes 600 to 3,000 years for 6 inches of topsoil to develop naturally, as it generally requires 100 to 500 years to form just a single inch. Underground water aquifers operate on similar timescales, if they can regenerate at all. The land needs time to recover from the demands of present timeline position humans.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agrivoltaics
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S03014...
https://cleantechnica.com/2026/01/03/21-gigawatts-of-solar-f...
https://www.goldenstatecleanenergy.com/valley-clean-infrastr...
Planting more PV farms isn't better, it just convolutes the equation and hides the true sources of damage behind things with a less negative image, and would eventually just prove Jevon's law, one way or the other.
Not preceding "using better" with "consuming less" (on a system-wide basis) would get you the same result as going for recycling while forgoing the first R: empty, marketing points in green-coloured font.