Posted on 01/19/2025 10:27:54 AM PST by where's_the_Outrage?
BUCKHOLTS, Texas (AP) — On rural Texas farmland, beneath hundreds of rows of solar panels, a troop of stocky sheep rummage through pasture, casually bumping into one another as they remain committed to a single task: chewing grass.
The booming solar industry has found an unlikely mascot in sheep as large-scale solar farms crop up across the U.S. and in the plain fields of Texas. In Milam County, outside Austin, SB Energy operates the fifth-largest solar project in the country, capable of generating 900 megawatts of power across 4,000 acres (1,618 hectares).
How do they manage all that grass? With the help of about 3,000 sheep, which are better suited than lawnmowers to fit between small crevices and chew away rain or shine.
The proliferation of sheep on solar farms is part of a broader trend — solar grazing — that has exploded alongside the solar industry......
“Solar grazing is probably the biggest opportunity that the sheep industry had in the United States in several generations,” Redden said.
The response to solar grazing has been overwhelmingly positive in rural communities near South Texas solar farms where Redden raises sheep for sites to use, he said.
“I think it softens the blow of the big shock and awe of a big solar farm coming in,” Redden said.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Taking jobs that American sheep won’t do.
At that density, the U.S could meet its entire energy needs with 10,000 square miles, or less than 1% of its grazing land. In fact, rooftops alone would easily meet US energy needs.
I did hear that corporations just want sheep labor.
Dirty deeds....Done With Sheep!
Know someone who leased out 400 acres of farmland for 25 years for solar. The company bulldozed the topsoil off and piled it up and leveled the land. Installed concrete supporting posts for the panels. After 25 years, they are supposed to remove the panels, posts, and reinstall the topsoil. Wonder how that will turn out for the grandkids.
Oh, no one disputes that solar panels can generate electricity. Even a lot of it if there are enough of them. The issue is whether they are being subsidized by Uncle Sugar to generate it under the guise of self-sufficiency when it is really a green energy boondoggle. The outfits seeking our lease contracts were to be financed by Biden’s so-called inflation reduction act.
EXCEPT...that solar farm that takes up that much space only makes ON A CLOUDLESS, SUNNY DAY those 900 Mwh during the peak sunshine time. Starts at 0 at sunrise and goes to 0 at sunset. Those coal fired, natural gas and nuclear make 900 Mwh 24/7/365.
We have solar panels for our personal use. We had the ice/snow storm 2 weeks ago..... they made 0 power for 5 days while they were covered.
Wind and solar are NOT the answer.
I like my decentralized solar, providing 80% of the power my home consumes through the year, making me pull only 20% of my power from the grid. But my solar doesn't have to provide my power ALL of the time, like the grid is expected to. The main purpose of my solar is to limit how much I have to pay throughout the year (so that the Dims' warmageddon cult energy polices jacking up energy costs don't mess up my retirement financial planning).
The fact that the grid has to provide dependable power means that the grid has to depend on dependable sources (i.e. coal, natural gas, nuclear, hydro).
What makes you think solar panels leech mercury? Are you thinking that the hail is smashing open reservoirs of liquid mercury?
Another view: https://youtu.be/rVaq3a-z9iU?si=Xm5Q49nqAC_Gha-u
“”Takes up a little more space than a coal fired, or natural gas, or nuclear plant.””
Hmmmmmmm..... Let’s try to compare the average 9pm-6am electricity generation for these powerhouses of power generation. The plants that produce electricity with nuclear, natural gas, and, yes, even coal, produce an average of X amount of electricity between 9pm and 6am.
The solar power systems, between 9pm and 6am produce.....uh......uh.....Wait a damn minute! This is not faaaaaaiir!
Also, the Billy Bob Thornton viral video explaining dirty wind power is a must see.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fmbZwxEnAFc
“ Wonder how that will turn out for the grandkids.”
They are probably getting around $700/acre/year.
That’s around $7,000,000 over the lease term. The solar company will also likely have been obligated to provide a restoration bond at some point. I’m thinking the grandkids should be just fine.
kinda proves the sheep will follow anything...
That presumes the solar company doesn’t go bankrupt in the next 25 years. Didn’t work out for the wind companies.
Have a little cadmium with your mutton...
OK, you win the thread.
Concentrated feedlots like in the Texas panhandle are not necessarily a good thing.
windmills and solar panels will be out of fashion soon was the point.
I wonder how many of these solar panels were made in the USA vs China? Very few I bet.
Again we are exporting our energy production.
100% correct. Our solar panels were configured to provide all of the electricity we needed, then we retired ( home more ) and we had one panel fail. We just found a replacement panel to get back in. Installed in Nov 2019, after two months started generating enough to to slowly build up credits and had a zero electric bill until about 3 months ago. The failed panel caught up with us in usage. I agree that people or businesses that want to install them for their own use is fine. Solar and wind are not reliable for the grid.
Mercury is part of the coating as well as other toxins.
If you are wondering about hail damage many photos of solar panels smashed by hail on line some in Texas.
You have to get up to speed on things.
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