According to a 345-page study called “Net-Zero America,” released on Dec. 15, 2020 by a team from two environmental centers at Princeton University, onshore wind and solar farms might have to cover over 231,660 square miles of U.S. territory by the year 2050, for the U.S. economy to be net-zero in emitting “heat-trapping gasses.” Think of it: an area slightly larger than the areas of the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois combined, covered over by inefficient energy technologies from the 14th century which have a well-proven track record of failing when most needed.
The City of London’s The Economist 3,500-plus-word monster article this week, discussing the ins-and-outs of “Decarbonising America,” promotes this Princeton study, and particularly its most solar- and wind-dependent proposal.
