Can Solar Panels Regenerate Prairies?

[Ron Wagner + 649]

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg25934560-100-can-massive-solar-power-expansion-regenerate-the-uss-iconic-prairies/?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=2023-09-12-Solar-farms-to-

 

Can massive solar power expansion regenerate the US’s iconic prairies?

Renewable energy development is transforming the US countryside. It could be a chance to restore the iconic prairies if rural opposition can be overcome

By James Dinneen

12 September 2023

 

 

 

Growing native plants under solar panels may benefit prairie land and boost honeybee health

Argonne National Laboratory

 

A THIRD of North America was once an ocean of grass stretching from what is now central Canada to Mexico. Today, almost all of that original habitat, called prairie, is gone, ploughed for agriculture, paved over for cities and roads, or taken over by encroaching trees and shrubs. Most native prairie remnants are unmarked and hidden to the untrained eye – at least until the spring bloom reveals what grows there.

So, it was a surprise for Danish energy company Ørsted to learn that the field in which it planned to build a giant solar facility was among the largest areas of intact prairie left in Texas. It was also a “wake-up call” for conservationists, says Kirsti Harms at the Native Prairies Association of Texas. “Suddenly there are thousands of acres going into these solar projects.” Unlikely as it seems, this could be good for both clean energy and biodiversity.

Rapid development of renewable energy facilities, such as solar farms and wind turbines, is necessary to cut greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change. But the industry’s demand for rural land – what Shannon Eddy, director of the Large-scale Solar Association, calls “the biggest shift in land-use patterns in modern history” – has generated intense opposition among local communities across the US. Amid this, researchers and some developers, including Ørsted, are looking for ways to make facilities that bring benefits not only to rural populations but landscapes too.

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The one that has perhaps gained most traction is the idea that solar development can restore lost habitat if native flora is planted beneath panels, supporting birds and insects and improving the soil on potentially millions of hectares. This, the argument goes, could finally herald the return of the iconic prairie.

Acres of solar panels

The ongoing energy transition in the US requires vast amounts of land. A recent report from The Nature Conservancy found that the current trajectory of energy development would need more than 650,000 square kilometres, about 7 per cent of the continental US or an area more than twice that of the UK.

This transformative enterprise has gained momentum as a result of huge investments from the federal government and the private sector as well as the falling costs of renewable energy. It has also provoked increasing opposition. “We’re seeing growing resistance in local communities to the deployment of these clean energy projects,” says Grace Wu at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an author of the report. “We need to do what we can to make sure this is generating benefits for everybody.”

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[markslawson + 1,042]

2 hours ago, Ron Wagner said:

has generated intense opposition among local communities across the US.

The article about says it all. Whatever we may think about RE expanding such power sources to the point where they might make a difference is proving far harder than originally thought. The article points to one way forward but it seems unlikely opposition will be overcome any time soon. 

[Ron Wagner + 649]

1 hour ago, markslawson said:

The article about says it all. Whatever we may think about RE expanding such power sources to the point where they might make a difference is proving far harder than originally thought. The article points to one way forward but it seems unlikely opposition will be overcome any time soon. 

I agree with that but a better sales job and follow through guaranteed by developers might sell the good points. Mush of the American West is just poor grazing land for ranches but has far greater potential with proper management. The potential advantages and beautification plus another profit stream is worth going for. 

[markslawson + 1,042]

22 hours ago, Ron Wagner said:

I agree with that but a better sales job and follow through guaranteed by developers might sell the good points. Mush of the American West is just poor grazing land for ranches but has far greater potential with proper management.

Maybe. (how is that for a definite answer.) I'm not arguing the point but the same activists obstinately insisting that Renewable Energy must be increased several fold by such and such a date, will also obstinately insist that even poor grazing soil must not be disturbed to do it. We live in strange times. I wish you well in pushing for this, however.  

[footeab@yahoo.com + 2,135]

Why some farmers are looking at Solar panels:  They need wind breaks.

Main problem in the prairies for farmers is WIND.  Not too much sun. 

The problem are small minded fools pushing Solar.  If they grew a brain, farmers would be falling over themselves signing up for solar fencing. 

Normally when one builds a wind break it produces ONLY the benefit of better crops near the wind break be it shrubs, trees, fencing.  With Solar panels, yes initial cost is far higher, but there is a side benefit. 

The problem farmers have with the Solar people is the Solar dictators demand that their "farm" be turned 100% into solar without crops growing or grazing cattle.  On top of this the solar dictators want 100% ownership where they do not allow the farmer access, etc.  Why?  The solar generators likewise want to be in a condensed area to minimize installation costs(permits etc)  If this is done, effectively this makes farming the land between the panels impossible and why there is the gargantuan push back.  Especially when these are multi generational farms who need a certain ### of acres to make their farm even viable and that number is increasing every year.  So, you will NEVER get a small or medium sized farm to agree to go solar in even a portion with the current brain dead Solar Dictators.  This severely limits the number of installation sites.

Until solar folks start pushing their panels as miles of useful FENCING the farmer can REPAIR THEMSELVES, wind breaks, shade for cattle making healthier cattle etc we will not see much of it except on roofs or in desert regions where the land is ~useless or has become useless due to bad farm management(overgrazing, over trampled, salted)

If solar companies got their heads out of their asses and started pushing this as wind breaks creating LESS water evaporation from their fields and therefore higher crop yields(MANY MANY MANY such studies showing this)... they would win people over right and left(pun intended)

 

[footeab@yahoo.com + 2,135]

Oh, PS: That "prairie" will not last in the example above... It has to be be burned off fairly often or at least have major disturbance to keep it healthy... Miles of Insulated power conductors and fire... do not mix... Guess what "prairie" will not be burned off which will leave only a few select types of plants growing there ...