U.S. Southern Solar Wall? The Real Facts Behind Trump's Solar Wall on the Border

Home | Our Blog | U.S. Southern Solar Wall? The Real Facts Behind Trump’s Solar Wall on the Border

July 6, 2017 | By RGR Marketing Blog

What You Need to Know About Trump's Plan to Build a Solar Wall

President Trump's plans to build a southern border wall are moving forward, with the latest updates on his project including news that Donald Trump wants to add solar panels to his wall.

In recent weeks, Trump shared his plans to go solar at a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. For the first time publicly, Trump announced, “We’re thinking about building the wall as a solar wall so it creates energy and pays for itself… And this way, Mexico will have to pay much less money. And that’s good, right?”

And according to PBS writer Jill Colvin, Trump is pleased with his recent decision to go solar. At the rally Trump framed the decision as "my idea," touting “pretty good imagination, right?”

Don't Be Alarmed; The Solar Wall Is Not Really Trump's Idea

Trump can't take all the credit for the new direction to use solar energy for the border wall. Earlier this year, an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal explored the possibility of adding solar panels to the wall.

According to head researchers at Columbia University's Center for Life Cycle Analysis and George Washington University's Solar Institute, energy scholars found that a solar wall was “not only technically and economically feasible, it might even be more practical than a traditional wall.” They said a 2,000-mile solar wall could cost less than $1 billion, instead of tens of billions for a traditional border wall, and possibly become “wildly profitable.”

Remember the hundreds of submissions that design-build teams put forth as proposals to build a wall? One of the proposing companies submitted a design that envisions "covering some sections of the wall with solar panels to provide electricity for lighting, sensors and patrol stations along the wall."

What a Southern Border Wall Means for Solar Installation Companies

What does this mean for solar installation business owners? As Trump moves forward with companies designing prototype walls, a solar wall is a viable option. And if the project does in fact go solar, the multi-billion-dollar project would be financially lucrative for solar installation business owners. But what are implications and roadblocks that one should expect?

Funding for the Solar Border Wall Remains Uncertain

According to the Washington Post, "The contracting process is moving ahead despite Congress’s reluctance to fully fund Trump’s pet project and Mexico’s expressed unwillingness to pay for it. Congress has set aside $20 million in the current budget for the prototypes but has not appropriated any other money for the wall."

Congress's financial commitment is dangerously low, considering estimates for building the wall range from a couple billion all the way up to 38 billion dollars. While Trump insists Mexico should foot the bill for the wall, he has neglected to divulge any sort of plan for Mexico to pay for the wall.

Be Aware of Business Repercussions

Trump's wall has certainly been a polarizing project since the outset. While some architecture and construction firms are approaching the project with a business-only perspective, other firms are voicing real concern.

Referring to Trump's wall, Cornelius DuBois, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) national ethics committee chair, shared "there are a number of points in the [AIA] Code of Ethics that should encourage [members] to think of the ethical challenges of accepting a commission or project." Some architecture firms have gone as far to declare they will not work with any construction firm who submits a bid for the wall.

Cities, too, are taking stands against firms who want to be involved with Trump's wall. According to the LA Times, "Two San Francisco supervisors introduced legislation this week that would bar the city from contracting with companies that bid on the wall, regardless of whether they actually win… And members of the California Assembly have introduced a bill that would require the state’s pension funds to divest from any company involved in building the wall."

Construction Should Be Approached With Caution

According to the IB Times, "Building Trump's wall may require about 339 million cubic feet of concrete, or three times what was used to build the Hoover Dam." Construction, and solar panel installation, will face complications.

Estudio 3.14, one design firm that visualized the wall project, estimates that construction could take up to16 years. And based on a rendering of what the wall might look like, "the architects said that the physical challenges would make its construction nearly impossible."

With a hazy future for funding, construction, and long-term business relations, solar installation business owners should approach Trump's wall project with caution. Lucrative? Yes. Actualized with solar panels? It's really way too soon to tell.

[Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons]

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What You Need to Know About Trump's Plan to Build a Solar Wall

Don't Be Alarmed; The Solar Wall Is Not Really Trump's Idea

What a Southern Border Wall Means for Solar Installation Companies

Funding for the Solar Border Wall Remains Uncertain

Be Aware of Business Repercussions

Construction Should Be Approached With Caution

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money today!

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What You Need to Know About Trump's Plan to Build a Solar Wall

Don't Be Alarmed; The Solar Wall Is Not Really Trump's Idea

What a Southern Border Wall Means for Solar Installation Companies

Funding for the Solar Border Wall Remains Uncertain

Be Aware of Business Repercussions

Construction Should Be Approached With Caution

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