The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) has issued a request for information (RFI) to gather input on solar land use and its impacts on wildlife and ecosystems.
According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Solar Futures Study, reaching President Biden’s goal of a 100% clean energy economy with net-zero emissions could require 1 terawatt of installed solar capacity by 2035, which would require about 5.7 million acres of land. Although the land requirements are less than 0.3% of the contiguous United States, minimizing impacts on wildlife and wildlife habitat—as well as maximizing the benefits—will be critical to meeting these climate goals in partnership with local communities. SETO is interested in learning more from photovoltaic developers; utility planners; local, state, and federal government entities; and conservation and environmental groups.
Download the full RFI to see the list of questions.
Read the summary of the RFI responses.
Additional Information
The deadline to submit your response to this RFI is September 30, 2021 at 5:00pm ET.
You must email your response to saissolar@ee.doe.gov as a Microsoft Word (.docx) attachment. Attachments larger than 25MB should be compressed, or zipped, to ensure message delivery. Only electronic responses will be accepted.
Please identify your answers by responding to a specific question or topic if applicable. Respondents may answer as many or as few questions as they wish.
Respondents are requested to provide the following information at the start of their response to this RFI:
- Company / institution name;
- Company / institution contact;
- Contact's address, phone number, and e-mail address.
EERE Exchange Link: Download the RFI to learn more.
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