THE WORLD IS COMING TO terms with the pace and scale of action needed both get to Net Zero and achieve an adequate level of energy security in the short term. This means that the number of people determined to pursue every energy option before turning to nuclear is diminishing. At the same time, when people look seriously at deploying renewables at the scale required, they start to accumulate unwelcome baggage.Take solar power, which is projected to be the world's main source of electricity by 2050. Putting solar on rooftops is of course a no-brainer, particularly where its production will coincide with demand for air conditioning or the work of a business. These deployments are the low-hanging fruit, easily accessible in the built environment. But these alone are far from enough to meet our energy needs. Building the large number of utility-scale solar projects required means using vast open spaces in areas of land that could otherwise be productive as agricultural land for instance. But there are even more extreme projects being mooted as the solution to our clean energy demands.
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