4 ms·
Curiosity question for the large scale pros. How is rainwater runoff handled in these large solar farms? Trenches and drains to retention ponds? Or do they some
by thedougd 4y ago
Curiosity question for the large scale pros. How is rainwater runoff handled in these large solar farms? Trenches and drains to retention ponds? Or do they somehow try and redirect the water under the panels to utilize the surface area under them?
Impacts to watersheds are the biggest environmental issues of any small or large scale building projects in my neck of the woods. I’m only allowed 12 percent of my land for impervious surfaces.
- Schroedingersat 4y agoThe panels are only a few m apart. The only difference between that and a fallow field is going to be slightly lower evaporation, and maybe a hair more erosion until grass establishes itself
- thedougd 4y agoFound motivation to look it up. This document suggests leaving enough space between the rows to accomodate the runoff. "EMLR allows solar panels associated with ground-mounted solar farms to be considered pervious if they are configured in accordance with the recommendations in this chapter. These recommendations promote sheet flow of stormwater from the panels and natural infiltration of stormwater into the ground beneath the panels." ... "In general, the minimum disconnection length between two rows of solar panels is equal to the width of each row, as shown in Figure 1. However, some panel layouts include horizontal gaps between individual modules that allow stormwater to drip off the panels at intervals much smaller than the width of each row. In these instances, the solar farm can be designed with a smaller disconnection length, provided that they will not cause concentration of stormwater runoff." https://deq.nc.gov/media/12043/download https://deq.nc.gov/media/12043/download