The Under-Appreciated Benefits of Solar and Wind Energy

IIASA researchers explored optimal pathways for managing groundwater and hydropower trade-offs for different water availability conditions as solar and wind energy start to play a more prominent role in the state of California.

California is the largest agricultural producer in the US. In the midst of one of the most devastating droughts on record (2012–2017), the agricultural sector still earned the state US$47 billion and contributed 13% of the country’s total agricultural output in 2015. This ability to maintain crop revenue, along with the overall resilience of the agricultural sector, largely relied on the unsustainable use of groundwater, which, while effectively offsetting the impact of the drought, contributed to severe groundwater... ... More: Official Press Release IIASA

Keywords:

study, IIASA, study, solar, wind, groundwater, use, agriculture, California, USA, drought, food production, energy consumption