I am certainly not opposed to the government subsidizing green energy production. We need to get away from fossil fuels and there has been a long tradition of government subsidies for energy production. But using large tracts of public land to build solar power plants seems environmentally unsound and needless. I know several people including two of my daughters that have solar panels on their houses. They are on a program where they power their home with solar as long as the panels are producing and the power company banks any excess power produced, then sends it back when the panels are not producing. They pay almost nothing for electricity but of course they are paying off the solar panels over a 30-year period.
I looked into it when I was building my house, but I use very little electricity compared to most and I am getting old so the chance of me living long enough for the solar to pay for itself is slim. So, I didn't go solar
However, if a company wanted to lease my roof to put up solar panels or reduce my eclectic rate for the use of my roof, I would be more than willing to let them cover my house with panels. I am sure there are millions of other roof tops and open unused private land they could lease as well, and they are already connected to the grid. Basically, the same model that cell phone companies use to locate their towers. I don't know, maybe there is a reason this isn't being done but it sure makes sense to me.
