Solar panels don’t release toxic substances into soil or groundwater, experts interviewed by The Baltimore Sun said.
According to the report, “misconceptions on the industry continue to surge,” particularly around the impact arrays have after being deployed. The Sun reported that 1,757 acres of former farmland in the state are now solar farms. Many are larger ones built to support the grid. Since most systems last at least 30 years, few installations have experienced a full lifespan.
“It’s not like they have a bunch of metals just sort of free floating — it’s not like a thermometer that’s full of mercury,” University of Maryland associate professor Mitchell Pavao-Zuckerman said. He teaches about urban ecosystems and sustainably built environments…