Plans for the nation’s first offshore wind projects and the largest solar energy projects on public lands will be extremely important to the green economy in 2011. Although both solar and wind will be critical to energy independence and a pragmatic solution to economic recovery in 2011, solar is the clear winner of the two.

Vermont Law School (VLS), a private, independent institution with the top-ranked environmental law program and one of the top-ranked clinical training programs in the nation according to U.S. News & World Report, has just released the Environmental Top 10 Watch List for 2011.

The report evaluates 10 judicial, regulatory, legislative and other actions that significantly affect humans and the natural world.

“We can continue our short-sighted addiction to fossil fuels or we can adopt innovative, healthier, more sustainable practices,” said VLS Dean Jeff Shields in a press release. “The Environmental Watch List will help improve public understanding of how to use the law to take action on the critical issues of our time.”

The number seven slot on the list was reserved for wind and solar projects, and was led by Associate Director/Assistant Professor of Law Don Kreis, an expert in energy efficiency, law and regulation.

“Big solar installations need to find homes on federally-owned public lands because that’s where the suitable sites are. Particularly as the nation grows more reliant on non-utility generators that, unlike utilities, cannot acquire sites via eminent domain, leasing sites from the federal government becomes more and more important. As an attorney and public policy fan, I relish the opportunities this provides for a full and robust public discussion of the costs and benefits of solar installations,” said Kreis on the issue of acquiring public lands for solar use moving into the New Year.

Kreis also stressed the importance of solar policy for 2011 such as feed-in tariffs.

“A promising development with respect to solar power is the advent of feed-in tariffs such as the one we have here in Vermont,” he said. “Such a program provides an opportunity for small and relatively small-scale solar installations (and other renewable resources) to feed power into the grid at a price that will cover the actual cost of generating the electricity.”

There are several other factors that make solar the stand out winner over wind for the green economy in 2011.

“For electric generation via solar power, the recent run-up in petroleum prices (i.e., prices for both natural gas and oil-based fuels) suggests a growing role for solar as a power source that is not vulnerable to price volatility and is frequently cost-competitive with non-renewable resources,” said Kreis. “Solar also enjoys an advantage over wind power by virtue of the simple fact that solar installations are less visually intrusive, infinitely less noisy, and thus less vulnerable to public opposition.”

Pictured: Associate Director/Assistant Professor of Law at Vermont Law School Donald M. Kreis.