Contractor's Corner: Silicon Ranch

Published: April 26, 2021, 5 a.m.

What started as being a nice neighbor to a regenerative farm has turned into a whole new way of building and maintaining solar projects for Silicon Ranch.\n\nWith close to 1 GW of installed projects, the utility-scale solar developer and owner was seeing the real impact of using herbicides and pesticides to manage vegetation growth. After siting a new project next to one of the larger regenerative ranchers in the Southeast, Silicon Ranch (whose mission is to be a supportive community member) wanted to ensure it wasn't applying chemicals or contributing to soil erosion that may affect the rancher's mission. With some tips from the rancher, Silicon Ranch dove into regenerative land management practices that could improve the land at each of its solar sites.\n\nIn this episode of the Contractor's Corner podcast,\xa0Solar Power World\xa0editor-in-chief Kelly Pickerel talks with Silicon Ranch CEO Reagan Farr about the company's regenerative energy process, and how bringing more native plants and grazing livestock to solar sites can make a big impact on communities.\n\nSilicon Ranch is celebrating 10 years in the solar industry, and so is SPW's Pickerel, so listen in as they talk about the decade-club.\n\nhttps://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2021/04/contractors-corner-silicon-ranch/