New solar project on the High Plains brings renewable energy
AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — With a vast landscape of land across the High Plains, it presents an opportunity for companies to develop renewable energy sources in the area. Wind turbines and Solar Projects have been seen across the area, with the largest single-phase solar project opening in Tulia.
Hornet Solar began operations this year, comprising more than 1.36 million PV panels that can generate 600 MWAC of power. According to Vesper Energy developer of the Hornet Solar project, the project, when fully operational, will power 160,000 homes annually.
“Tulia is an absolutely perfect area for solar energy, as it checks all the boxes. Tulia is nice flat land. You have sunlight, you know, year-round, really, and a good quantity. There’s a transmission line that runs right through there that has good capacity available,” added Vice President of Engineering Zach Wald. “Plus, it’s, you know, just a great community, good, hard-working individuals who really support renewable energy as well.”
Wald explained that when it comes to solar projects, the best place for them to thrive is on flat land, which the high plains have a lot of.
“Ideally, somewhere that has a lot of sunlight year-round. What these do is, when they’re flat, they’re really producing the most power kind of per foot of that module. And so it allows you to get the most energy out of each module as it tracks the sun throughout the day,” added Wald. “You know, in addition to a nice, flat piece of land, having a transmission line with available capacity near it is another big benefit to a solar project.”
With so many new solar projects being seen across the area, Wald explained what exactly solar energy is and how it benefits the communities that it provides energy to.
“Simplest level, solar panels are devices that collect and convert sunlight into electricity. A solar panel is made up of many solar cells that actually absorb that light and then generate what’s called DC electricity,” added Wald. “That DC electricity is then, via a wire, pushed to an inverter, that’s what takes it from DC to AC. It is stepped up in voltage from there and then passed on to the grid.”
With the High Plains being a big industry for agriculture, Wald added that there is some benefit for farms because, with the projects usually being 20 to 30-year projects, it allows the soil to rest.
“At Hornet, we’re going to use sheep as our vegetation management, so it provides natural fertilizer. Then there is a whole agrovoltaics industry kind of kicking up too, or you can do a, you know, kind of a dual purpose,” added Wald. “Where you have solar, plus they’ll use the land for crops, that is really starting to take off in certain places around the country.”
As technology continues to advance, according to Wald, there is also an opportunity for solar projects to advance because they will be able to use technology to get more energy. Wald detailed that the tracking system that is used at Hornet follows the sun throughout the day and has become more advanced, so more energy is captured.
“From morning to afternoon, tonight, the inverters that take it from DT power, which is what comes off the modules, to AC power, which is usable. You know, on the grid, that technology is advancing as well, to just kind of get larger and able to do things more efficiently,” Wald explained. “So efficiencies of every piece of equipment across solar is really where we’re seeing the biggest gains right now.”
He adds that solar is one of the lowest-cost energy up to build for new generation, which is why he said it’s attractive for areas like Texas and the Panhandle.
Another solar project that is in the works and will be brought to Carson and Potter counties is the Yellow Rose Solar Project. We have been following that story, and it can be found here.