Many businesses with enough land area installed solar farms to power their factories and even local neighborhoods. If you have the same land mass, should you consider installing one?
Solar farms are useful for many communities. It can generate thousands of kWh to power multiple homes. Furthermore, numerous governments in the world constructed solar farms to power highways and public structures.
Some farms that have endured the worst of the climate crisis had installed solar panels on their land instead. Barren ground can now produce energy instead of crops before the rainy season arrives with solar farms. These farmers will have invested a significant amount to construct them, but the tax rebates and free power they gain returns their investment almost immediately.
However, owning a solar farm does have some drawbacks.
Farms occupy great spaces of land. You need to install it over the entire farm, not just one patch, to produce enough energy for your space or to meet your quota.
Solar farms are also irregular. Only a limited amount of UV rays drops from the sky during rainfall or winter.
Cleaning the system might also be challenging. A solar farm has more panels that need cleaning to work efficiently.
Learn more about solar farms through this helpful post from Chariot Energy.
What is a Solar Farm?
A solar farm is a large collection of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels that absorb energy from the sun, convert it into electricity and send that electricity to the power grid for distribution and consumption by customers like you. Solar farms — which you’ll sometimes see being called solar parks or photovoltaic power stations — are usually mounted to the ground instead of rooftops and come in all shapes and sizes.
Types of Solar Farms
Of the tens of thousands of solar panel installations in the U.S., they can be grouped into two types of solar farms, both based on size.
Utility-scale
Community solar
Utility-Scale Solar Power
First and foremost, the phrase “utility-scale” can be a bit misleading. Technically, all solar energy projects — whether it’s a few rooftop panels or a whole acre of them — are “on the grid” providing the local utility company with solar-powered electricity. The only time a solar energy project is not truly utility-scale is when it’s completely disconnected from the grid and not connected through a power line. This is almost never the case.
But for our purposes and most discussions of this nature, utility-scale solar farms refer to those massive areas of land where solar panels stretch beyond the horizon. Such installations consist of hundreds of thousands of solar panels that absorb energy from the sun, generate an electric current and distribute that power on high-voltage power lines. The electricity travels along those power lines to the electricity grid, eventually making its way to your home.
Oh, and did we mention Chariot Energy has one of these? Yes! We are so excited to have our very own Oberon Solar Power Facility, which officially went online in June 2020. As a 180 megawatt (MW) utility-scale solar farm, it will annually supply enough solar energy to power 30,000 homes. Moreover, we’ll operate it for the next 25 to 30 years, so we’ve got plenty of sunshine to go around.
These facilities, including ours, typically operate on power purchase agreements, wherein businesses agree to purchase a specific amount of electricity either from the utility or the generator. They also operate through other means, such as tax equity investments, a fancy term you can learn more about in our solar for business article.
That’s just one side of the solar farm coin! The other consists of the thousands of smaller-scale farms the industry refers to as community solar or solar gardens.
Community Solar Farms
Community solar farms are small-scale solar facilities that generate around 5 MW of electricity for a local community of homes and businesses. The power is shared among everyone who participates in the program. Depending on the number of residents and the amount of production, the residents could get a reduction in their electricity bill for investing in this solar project.
Here’s how it works:
The solar panels are installed in a large, open area of the neighborhood that receives maximum exposure to sunlight.
The solar energy gets fed into the larger electricity grid for the region.
People who joined the solar program will see their energy bill adjusted for the amount of energy generated in relation to the size of their home.
This is possible with technology called “virtual net metering.” Your retail energy company will credit your bill for the amount of electricity your community solar farm generates in proportion to your home’s energy load.
Community solar also differs from utility-scale solar because it’s considered distributed energy or distributed generation resource (DER). The electricity produced by the community solar farm is used to power the homes within a close range. Thus, they’re less likely to lose power if the grid goes down.
In contrast, electricity made by utility-scale solar farms can travel for miles and miles until it reaches its destination, be it your home or business. Ultimately, both have unique benefits that move the solar industry forward! (Continue reading here to learn more)
Roper Roofing and Solar is a trusted name among homeowners in our area for top-quality solar panel installations and roofing services. We have decades of roofing experience and knowledge to accomplish the roof installations you need. Call us today to learn more.
