1A Remaking America: Can Solar Power Help Fix Drought-Ravaged Farmlands?

1A

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4.3 • 4.5K Ratings

🗓️ 2 March 2023

⏱️ 34 minutes

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Summary

The American West is experiencing its worst drought in over 1,000 years. That's making a lot of farmers rethink their sustainability practices and reimagine land that has become infertile.

One way to innovate is via solar energy. Solar panels can make use of depleted land and help offset a farm's energy costs. They also preserve groundwater and help with crop growth.

But the transition isn't always cheap. Could expanding solar on farmland make it harder and more expensive to feed America?

We go to California where there's plenty of sun and an appetite to reach aggressive climate goals to hear about the possibilities.

This show was part of 1A's Remaking America collaboration with six partner stations around the country. Remaking America is funded in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Find us on Twitter @1A.

Transcript

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0:00.0	California's San Joaquin Valley is nestled between the hills of the coastal mountains
0:13.3	and the towering Sierra Nevada's.
0:16.2	Driving around, there are white blossoms covering trees, growing in evenly spaced rows for
0:20.9	miles and miles.
0:22.9	Those are all mint trees, a major crop here in the valley.
0:26.0	The thirsty crop has an uncertain future.
0:29.1	About 500,000 acres of San Joaquin Valley farmland will need to be put out of production
0:34.5	by 2040 to meet state water requirements, according to the Public Policy Institute of
0:39.6	California.
0:41.0	A water shortage paired with the economics of farming have made some farmers swap out
0:45.7	their fields of crops for fields of solar panels.
0:49.2	But could expanding solar on farmland make it harder or more expensive to feed America?
0:54.5	Are there ways to have farming and solar on the same land?
0:58.1	We're in Fresno, it's part of our Remaking America project, looking at the issues that
1:02.0	divide us and how we might not actually be that far apart.
1:05.7	It's a partnership with six public radio stations, including KVPR in Fresno.
1:10.3	After the break, we kick things off with the feature from one A's June leftler.
1:14.6	She visited farmers with solar fields in the San Joaquin Valley.
1:18.0	Later, we take an even closer look at the pros and cons of expanding solar power on farmlands.
1:23.5	I'm Jen White, you're listening to the one A podcast where we get to the heart of the
1:27.3	story.
1:28.3	We've got a lot to get into, stay with us.
	...

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