Anybody live near a solar farm?

[vigil617]

Reason I ask, a Texas company just announced plans to build the largest solar farm east of the Rockies on 450 acres of open farmland that's a stone's throw from where I live.

Well, a stone in a slingshot, maybe, my arm not being what it used to.

This is part of approximately 1,000 acres in three or four contiguous tracts that have been corn and soybean fields of a family farm for 50 years. The landowner -- my wealthy neighbor just down the road, who's pushing 80 -- is leasing the property to 'em. I guess he's decided growing electrons has become a better option than grain crops.

They're starting construction in a matter of days since the land's already cleared and drainage is in place, so they expect to complete the $173 million project by this time next year. A regional power company has already signed a 15 year contract to buy the electricity and load it onto the grid.

Does anybody live near one of these? Any particular concerns? Seems like a clean and green project, and a darn sight better than growing more houses over there, but just wondering.

My dogs are gonna be up-set that some of their favorite runnin'-around area is gonna be covered up soon. This also eliminates about half of my .22 plinking territory, but other than that, do I have anything to be concerned about?

Most important, any chance that the skeeters around here that will be landing on those panels will vaporize themselves in the process?

 

[arjay]

That's gonna be really shiney!

 

[coltle6920]

Denver Int'l airport is going big time putting in large fields of solar panels.They're about 11mi. from me so no concern there.A lot of homeowners are putting them on their roofs.If I were to have them installed on my house my concern would be how they would hold up to the bad hail storms we get here.

Wasn't it solar panels in California that were zapping birds out of the sky and even blinding pilots coming in for a landing?

 

[mojave30cal]

There is a large solar array set up on the California/Nevada
border on I-15. The sun's energy is reflected off of the solar
arrays to these towers. I believe the heat generated boils
water and creates steam that drives turbines to create elec-
tricity. Any bird that flies through the solar array's reflected
sunlight gets fried and falls out of the sky. This was reported
in the Las Vegas Review Journal last year.

 

[vigil617]

There is a large solar array set up on the California/Nevada
border on I-15. The sun's energy is reflected off of the solar
arrays to these towers. I believe the heat generated boils
water and creates steam that drives turbines to create elec-
tricity. Any bird that flies through the solar array's reflected
sunlight gets fried and falls out of the sky. This was reported
in the Las Vegas Review Journal last year.

That project is on 4,400 acres in the Mojave Desert -- thankfully, about 10 times the size of the one that will be near me. It is interesting, though, that due to its size, estimates from an article I saw online from Scientific American are that up to 28,000 birds per year -- one every two minutes or so -- are impacted by "singeing" of their feathers, leading to catastrophic loss of flight ability. These birds have been dubbed "streamers" for the puffs of smoke created by the singeing.

Another concern seems to be birds crashing into the panels themselves due to their similarity in appearance to ponds or lakes.

And yes, some pilots flying over that massive complex in the Mojave have mentioned that the light is almost blinding. So far, though, no dangerous situations or incidents have resulted.

My main concern, I guess, is that in at least one of these projects (at the Indianapolis Airport), the cost to the utility of buying the solar-generated power is three to four times what they can sell it for. The difference is covered by incentives offered for using solar power and by raising rates on customers.

There's no free lunch, I guess.

 

[islamoradamark]

that going to be a lot of bling in that area i wonder if crime will go up

 

[Maddog 521]

Do not wear your "tin foil" hat when you're in the area.

 

[Rastoff]

Yes, there are bunches of them here. One on my roof actually. Solar is better than wind turbines. Solar farms are less obtrusive at the moment and photovoltaic panels cause very little impact to the environment.

The other plant mentioned uses reflected sun energy focused on a point to heat a special fluid. That is then stored underground to be used to power steam generators. Yeah, there are a couple of those out here too and yes, they do obliterate birds now and then. I'm surprised the activists haven't shut them down yet.

No, there's really nothing for you to be worried about. It should be little impact to you except the loss of land and soy beans.

 

[Rpg]

It will sure change your neighborhood.

Part of the change will be the influx of workers building it.

 

[vigil617]

It will sure change your neighborhood.

Part of the change will be the influx of workers building it.

The company has announced it will hire around 150 workers locally for the construction. We could sure use those jobs, I'm telling you.

I don't suppose after it's up and running that they will need very many on-site employees to maintain it, but at least for the next year or so, there'll be jobs there for construction guys.

 

[vigil617]

Yes, there are bunches of them here. One on my roof actually. Solar is better than wind turbines. Solar farms are less obtrusive at the moment and photovoltaic panels cause very little impact to the environment.

The other plant mentioned uses reflected sun energy focused on a point to heat a special fluid. That is then stored underground to be used to power steam generators. Yeah, there are a couple of those out here too and yes, they do obliterate birds now and then. I'm surprised the activists haven't shut them down yet.

No, there's really nothing for you to be worried about. It should be little impact to you except the loss of land and soy beans.

Good for you, Rastoff, for having solar on your house. I imagine that's for hot water, right?

As for the loss of land and crops potential, this land has had some of the prettiest corn on it in the past. The landowner says it's 300 bushels per acre land, which apparently is about 3 times the normal yield of our dirt here in southeastern NC. I do know the soil is very black and loamy, and looks like it would grow anything, and it's a shame in a way that it's going to be lost to agricultural production.


And, as far as those steam-driven turbine generators on-site at the solar farms, I assume they're in a pretty quiet and "green" facility, right? I don't know how large or how many of them it would take to handle the energy developed from a 450-acre site, but I don't imagine the generating portion of the project would be very extensive, would it?

 

[kozmic]

They are responsible for global warming, the decrease in the songbird population and deformities in frogs. Ask them if they wouldn't be happier using the land for a safer energy source....fracking.

 

[labworm]

For energy, Fracking is the way to go, as long as it is done in someone else's back yard.

Nothing like adding hundreds of carcinogens into the earth.

 

[vigil617]

Don't even get me started on fracking in North Carolina. Our (ahem) Honorables have seen fit to give the green light to it here, and I couldn't be more displeased.

 

[Salty RI]

They are planing to build a wind farm in the ocean in front of us and where they want to bring the cable in, is down the street from me, a lot of people are against it.

 

[Rustyt1953]

I didn't know you could grow solars. How long before they're ripe and how do you cook 'em?

 

[kozmic]

Don't even get me started on fracking in North Carolina. Our (ahem) Honorables have seen fit to give the green light to it here, and I couldn't be more displeased.

Hummmm...Our very own gun-hating andy cuomo put the kibosh on fracking in NYS and I couldn't be more displeased.

Different strokes for different folks I guess!

 

[Rastoff]

Good for you, Rastoff, for having solar on your house. I imagine that's for hot water, right?

No, it's photovoltaic for electricity. We gets lots of sun here and very little rain. Perfect for solar.

We also have lots of wind and this is common here:

 

[mike from st pete]

Greens or green?

450 acres of open farmland

Where will they grow the food for all the folks if they are making electric where they used to make beans?

 

[vigil617]

450 acres of open farmland

Where will they grow the food for all the folks if they are making electric where they used to make beans?

It's a good question, Mike. From what I understand, finding a large tract that is suitable for a solar farm is a pretty involved process. It's much more than having some open and fairly level land. Whatever the criteria are, though, apparently this tract near me was deemed exceptional for the purpose. That leaves a lot of farmland for growing crops and not solar panels, fortunately.

Just as an aside: the way this all got started here locally was that the landowner happened to see a service truck for a company that does the construction on solar farms -- the truck was here in our area for some reason, and the landowner stopped the guys and asked them how he would go about finding out if some of his land would be suitable for solar farming. They put him in touch with their boss in Texas, who came out to see the land, and the rest is on its way to being history.

The landowner, by the way, is a trained geologist who spent most of his career in the Southwest determining the best locations for oil drilling. He was maintaining his family's farm back here in North Carolina during that time as well -- leasing it out to others to farm -- and when he retired, he moved back here.