He said most of the area needed for solar would be rooftops, so you would not need to disturb land.
"And most of that area is going to be in rooftops, so you won't need to disturb land."
How much solar would it take to power the United States?
Q526 answers2015-2026
Short answer
Roughly 100 miles by 100 miles (160 km by 160 km) of solar could power the entire US — a small corner of Utah/Nevada/New Mexico — and a small part of Spain and Sicily could power Europe.
All 6 answers, oldest to newest
You can completely solve Earth's power need with a fairly small percentage of surface area. For the United States, a little corner of Utah/Nevada with solar could power the entire country.
"a corner of Utah Nevada and power the entire United States"
He is a proponent of using the big fusion power plant in the sky called the sun. If solar were the only source, a small section of Spain could power all of Europe; a little corner of Nevada or Utah the entire United States.
"if you just took a small section of of Spain you could power all of Europe"
You would not need a very large area to power the entire United States with solar — a little corner of Utah, a square roughly 150 to 200 km on a side if you wanted it in one place.
"you really won't need a large a very large area to power the entire United States with solar"
He said solar yields roughly 1 gigawatt hour per square kilometer per day.
"It's roughly 1 gigawatt hour per square kilometer per day, which is still a lot."
Roughly 100 miles by 100 miles (160 km by 160 km) of solar could power the entire US — a small corner of Utah/Nevada/New Mexico — and a small part of Spain and Sicily could power Europe.
"solar is enough to power the entire United States"