I even sent myself an email to remind myself to add this to my next post, but obviously that wasn’t enough. Something I totally forgot to mention when I discussed the myriad little tiny farming plots was how many are dedicated to solar panels. Perhaps not that many as a percentage, but given the massive number of little fields, it’s a large number. I only noticed one that was getting dual use, there were sheep eating in and around the base of the panels. I saw a lot of greenery under and between the panels, so clearly there’s enough light for things to grow, which makes me wonder if it’d be practical to get something in addition to the electricity, such as the sheep grazing or some crop that prefers partial sun.
While no where near as ubiquitous as the solar panels, the wind mills are much easier to see since they stick up so high. But very few were turning at a speed I figured would be necessary to produce meaningful electricity. I don’t know if this is from lack of wind, I know they all have a minimum wind energy to get the blades turning as the generator has some significant startup resistance, but where there were several, I’d often see one or two turning, if lackadaisical, while others were either stationary, or moving so slowly I couldn’t make out the movement. Perhaps they’re really only useful in the winter.
Interestingly, I didn’t see any in the mountains. Perhaps no one was willing to ruin the views. All I saw were on relatively flat land and typically in closer association with a major metropolitan area.
