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Can livestock live under solar installations?
by scotth 5y ago
Can livestock live under solar installations?
- chris1993 5y agoIt seems quite possible if they fix the issue of having panels too close to the ground. https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2020-08-25/parkes-solar-panel-sheep-trial-early-positive-results/12581756 https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2020-08-25/parkes-solar-pa...
- jagger27 5y agoI'm sure some would appreciate the shade. Most "free-range" chickens actually live in big enclosed warehouses so they might appreciate some fresh air under solar panels. Grazing animals probably wouldn't work very well.
- sp332 5y agoNo, growing plants out in the sun is much more efficient than capturing the light with a solar panel and then growing the plants elsewhere.
- nerdponx 5y agoBut growing plants in arid sunny regions requires a lot of irrigation, which might offset the benefits of maximizing solar efficiency.
- sp332 5y agoThe question was about places you would raise livestock.
- scotth 5y agoCould there be a balance? Some grasses grow with partial light. With the right inter-panel spacing, could it be that a grazing animal might require more space, but not to an unreasonable degree? (I assume there are other considerations for the pasture...ease of finding the animals, moving them around, etc)
- scotth 5y agoAnd while I'm thinking about it (and I'm way out of my depth here), but sunlight is a lot more powerful than growlights, is it not? Could power be siphoned to an extent, to supplement growth?
- scotth 5y agoI'm realizing that the loss in the system means this wouldn't make sense. Better to use existing light.
- Xt-6 5y agoInstalling solar panel above fields to boost the production of both is a thing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agrivoltaic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agrivoltaic
- samatman 5y agoBelieve it or not, one of the problems deserts have for growing plants is too much sun. Or rather, too much sun for available water. Installing solar panels high enough that goats don't bump into them, and planting shade-tolerant arid plants, can absolutely support grazing.
- Xt-6 5y agoGoats/sheeps are often used to clean the weeds in solar farms https://solargrazing.org/what-is-solar-grazing/ https://solargrazing.org/what-is-solar-grazing/ There are also studies that show that solar panel above fields can help boost production of both: solar panel get cooled by the plant perspiration and the plant get cooled by the shade of the panel.
- guerrilla 5y ago> For the safety of the existing, low-mount solar arrays, goats, cows, pigs, and horses are not recommended. Goats climb anything.