1. Exploratory
In Silicon Ranch in Hazlehurst, Georgia, a 52-megawatt solar farm with more than 630,000 solar panels was built. Hazlehurst is now one of top solar communities in the U.S. The farm uses active solar energy, like stated in the blog post Activity 3.2.3 - Active solar energy will use technology and or machines to access solar power. An example of active solar energy is the use of solar panels. One reason this was possible to build is because the cost of solar installation has dropped by 70% in the past decade. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, they state that solar energy is the most cost competitive forms of energy.
2. Diagnostic
The state of Georgia does not mandate clean energy, while other states have mandates in place. Besides the lack of mandate for clean energy in Georgia, they are becoming a leading state in solar energy by creating a 500-acre solar farm. Georgia state implemented cost effective solar panels, and this is because it is a new technology that tracks and follows the sun throughout the day, this maximizes the sun energy produced. The panels are also a thin fil solar panels, which is one of the most efficient solar gathering panels.
3. Cause and Effect
Due to the creation of the solar farm project in Georgia, it will bring in a large fluctuation of tax revenue to the county and will help fund their school systems. Because of the solar farm, energy can be produced for 8,500 EMC households in Georgia.
4. Priority
One of the issues the solar farm could face is the depletion of sustainable agricultural land. An expert agricultural farmer names Will Harris believes the land management needs to be handled in a different way by using regenerative farming techniques. The ideal situation would be to rotate animal species through the solar farmland, they would help with the recovery process and could help prevent erosion and carbon in the soil. Their purpose would be to feed off the land and fertilize the land as well. Currently this is not being done to the solar farmland in Georgia. If this style of farming is not considered and done to this farm and future solar farms, the land will begin to die. Creating less viable land.
5. Application
Solar energy is becoming a more efficient and cheaper resource for energy. There’s a huge influence Georgia could have over other states to do the same. I believe eventually other states will do the same, and I and other residents would not have to seek and obtain our own solar panels to use solar energy. This could help change the culture of how people view renewable resources and the importance of changing the way we obtain energy.
6. Critical
Georgia was not a state that I believed to be eco conscious, and the article states that they really don’t feel the need to conserve energy. Although their creation of the solar farm was to not tackle global warming, I still think it’s a step in the right direction. The decrease of cost for solar panels shows that renewable resources can be viable for the environment and cost effective while producing an ample amount of energy. I do think it’s important to utilize regenerative farming techniques along with solar farms, so we don’t cause a depletion of viable land in the U.S. while trying to use a renewable resource for energy.
References
Hsu, A., & Kelly, M. L. (2019, June 24). How solar grew in Georgia despite lack of mandates on renewable energy. National Public Radio. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2019/06/24/733795962/how-georgia-became-a-surprising- bright-spot-in-the-u-s-solar-industry
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