Friday 25 January 2019

Sheep and solar panels? Not a baaa-d idea…

A new solar plant in Hawaii relies on a flock of sheep to keep vegetation from growing over its panels.

The Kauai Island Utility Cooperative's new 28MW facility in Lawai has employed the services of 300 of the animals to keep the former sugar plantation's 155-acre fields suitably trimmed.

The plant was commissioned on the 8th of January and pushes the utility past the 50% mark in terms of the amount of its power it produces from renewable sources.

Around 100MW of battery capacity means it is able to produce and store power in daytime and release it at night - it is expected to be able to supply 11% of Kauai’s total electric power needs over a 24-hour period.