With the growing number of solar farms across Alabama, Georgia, and the Southeast, the importance of effective erosion control has never been higher. Erosion control for solar farms helps keep the operation running at full strength, mitigating the risk of equipment damage from the soil runoff and erosion that is caused by extreme weather. With effective erosion control measures in place, solar plants can prevent costly maintenance, maintain a positive public image, and ensure that their local environment isn’t damaged.
Soil Erosion Threatens Solar Plants
One of the main challenges facing solar plants today is the issue of soil erosion. In order for a solar plant, or solar farm, to be productive throughout their lifetime, erosion control is absolutely necessary. Heavy rainfall, wind, and other extreme weather can cause runoff and erosion that damages the solar farm by cutting channels through the soil and washing away topsoil, damaging the integrity of the equipment in use. This can lead to expensive and extensive repair work for the panels and their support structures.
How Erosion Control Helps Protect Solar Farms
The solution to the problem of soil erosion on solar plants is to develop an effective erosion control strategy. There are several ways to go about the erosion control process for a solar farm, including using rocks, cutting drainage channels, hydroseeding the soil, and more. All of these methods serve to limit the damage of erosion and runoff from the solar plant, but some are more effective than others.
Some methods serve to redirect water flow from heavy rainfall that runs downhill and away from the plant. Drainage channels are an example of a solution that takes this approach. A problem that faces drainage channels, however, is the erosion of the channel banks, which leads to a loss of soil and failure to effectively control erosion.
Hydroseeding, on the other hand, controls erosion by growing a healthy, thick layer of grass that absorbs water well and holds soil in place with its deep grass roots. This process involves spraying a hydroseeding slurry over the designated area, and then allowing the seeds from the slurry to take root and grow into the thick layer of grass. So, while this process can take a few weeks to complete, it is less prone to erosion and also tends to be more cost-effective.
Hydroseeding for Solar Farm Erosion Control
When solar field managers are looking for a cost effective, lasting, and reliable solution to erosion, they need look no further than commercial hydroseeding. All throughout Alabama and Georgia, more and more solar farms are turning to hydroseeding to help keep the performance of their plant maximized and safe from the harmful effects of excess rainfall and extreme weather.
Hydroseeding for Solar Farms with Burns Environmental
Burns Environmental offers commercial hydroseeding for all job sites across Alabama, helping control erosion and minimize the potentially costly threat that soil runoff poses to solar farms. For more information about the services offered by Burns Environmental, contact us today or give us a call to learn more about how hydroseeding can help control erosion for your solar plant or worksite.