An early grid battery was installed in the Atacama Desert in Chile 15 years ago. Now, as prices have tumbled, they are increasingly being used around the world.
An early grid battery was installed in the Atacama Desert in Chile 15 years ago. Now, as prices have tumbled, they are increasingly being used around the world.
That is essentially what our power coop has proposed. I think they are talking about solar only, but it hasn’t been popular with the ranchers 🙁️ It was just this year, so I think it will gain traction over time. This climate is complicated with regard to the shade from panels but the studies about solar panels in ranch land are good and I think it will happen, we just need more town folks to show up to the meetings. The grocer incident will be, I think, a game changer. The ranchers depend on that store also.
Thats great to hear. From what ive read sheep are the easiest to graze under common panels. For cattle, the panels will likely need to be mounted 10+ feet up, as cows are so large they can damage lower panels. This is more expensive, but is doable.
These are the studies I have read, but cattle are what exist right outside of town. We have a lot of sheep, too, but not where the panels would go. I would like to find a study about cattle, if you have one to share, that would be great!
Im seeing a lot of research being done in the cattle/panels area, although most of it appears recently and is partially stymied by the rollback of solar funds. This seems like a solid place to start. Panels need to br at roughly an 8ft elevation for cattle as far as I can tell.
Thank you! I work on rangelands, so having good info makes a big difference when I speak with these folks. I can’t use the sheep examples because we all know it may not be relevant.
I’ll get to reading.