As population and economies continue to grow on a global scale, so too does the demand for energy. To improve reliability and independence of energy supplies, the U.S. and many other countries are seeking internally-sourced renewable energy; solar is one such renewable-energy source that meets these criteria. However, all energy sources exert some environmental impacts. In the case of solar, direct impacts stem mostly from alteration of land needed to host infrastructure. Understanding the environmental upside and downside potential of solar energy systems allows a more comprehensive, side-by-side comparison with different energy sources. In this article, we focus on the solar energy potential of West Texas, USA, a large arid to semi-arid region with a rural population and favorable climatic conditions. Texas is an interesting and important region to study given its unregulated and independent grid operation and the additional (and substantial) sources of regionally produced energy. Herein, we assess the geographic and environmental attributes, constraints to (e.g., incoming solar radiation, slope, habitats, ecoregion, water availability, etc.), and the potential environmental impacts on land resources from utility-scale installations of different types of solar energy generation systems. Our assessment points to the balance needed to expand solar energy to gain flexibility in energy sourcing on the one hand, while carefully considering future locations and technology to avoid regional impacts to land and environmental resources.

随着人口和经济在全球范围内的持续增长，对能源的需求也在增长。为了提高能源供应的可靠性和独立性，美国和许多其他国家正在寻求内部来源的可再生能源。太阳能就是满足这些标准的一种可再生能源。但是，所有能源都会对环境产生一些影响。就太阳能而言，直接影响主要源于基础设施所需土地的变更。了解太阳能系统在环境方面的上升和下降潜力，可以与不同能源进行更全面的并排比较。在本文中，我们重点介绍美国西德克萨斯州的太阳能潜力，这是一个人口众多，气候条件适宜的干旱至半干旱地区。得克萨斯州是一个有趣而重要的研究区域，因为其不受监管的独立电网运行以及区域产生的能源的额外（和大量）来源。在此，我们评估地理和环境属性，限制因素（例如，入射的太阳辐射，坡度，栖息地，生态区域，水的可获得性等），以及不同类型的太阳能的公用事业规模安装对土地资源的潜在环境影响能源发电系统。我们的评估指出，一方面要扩大太阳能以获取能源采购的灵活性，另一方面要仔细考虑未来的位置和技术，以避免对土地和环境资源的区域性影响。