FOLLOW US

But why limit this to solar, Wind turbines would likely be more interesting in many places where the fence would run and while they can be bird blenders in the past new designs are developing that are relatively bird safe and also potentially more attractive.

Power

Now you are generating power what do you do with it?  As noted the cost of transmitting the power can be relatively high and the technologies I’m talking about would generate far more than the security systems and drones would consume.

But you could put manufacturing plants near the wall that wanted cheap power, cities could grow up near the wall that supported these plants and also got clean power, and where the wall intersected rivers you could put in solar powered facilities that would clean out the pollutants and you could have solar powered pumping stations that moved that clean water along the wall enabling farming in places where it currently doesn’t exist.  Finally, you could incorporate both personal and shipping transportation, automated and solar powered, so the goods that were created and the people that created them could move from the low-cost factories to homes and ports quickly and with solar powered efficiency.   Likely an optimal use of Musk’s Hyperloop.   So that you’d get a jobs bump not only when the wall was built but long after the wall was in place.   This could justify a far higher spend up front and get the wall built faster.

Wrapping Up:

I think the solar wall, or a wall that self generates, could be made viable with the proper application of technology both to secure it and to make use of the energy being generated in close proximity to the wall.  Rather than becoming an embarrassment, which is where it has been headed, as a joint US Mexico project it could benefit not only both countries but be a showcase for US and Mexican ingenuity and execution.  I also think the probability it will go that way is slight but one could only hope.