Outside arid regions, installing solar energy systems often entails clearing trees. Trees store carbon, reducing harmful greenhouse-gas buildup in the atmosphere. But replacing conventional energy supplies with solar energy far outweighs the benefits from displaced trees. Solar is “much preferable to traditional means of power generation, even considering wildlife and land-use impacts,” a 2011 study concludes.
A solar-systems dealer in heavily-forested New England advises concerned customers that ”solar panels make up for the trees’ carbon storage in a massive way.”
Solar advocates downplay worries about the aesthetics of solar installations scattered across U.S. landscapes. Bill Nussey, founder of the Freeing Energy Project, figures the entire country could be powered by systems covering no more than 0.5% of the U.S. land mass—or even less land with wide use of more rooftops.