The Montana landscape is changing with two new solar farms coming to Stillwater County.
There's concern land to ranch and farm is disappearing but work is underway to make this a win - win situation.
Watch Battle Butte Solar Farm project story here:
The Puget Sound Energy (PSE) Battle Butte Solar Farm will have solar panels covering about 1,200 of its 8,000 acres in Stillwater County.
There may actually be an opportunity for ranchers.
That solar farmwill generate about 130 megawatts, enough to power about 20,000 homes.
PSE runs the Beaver Creek Wind Farm, which has 88 turbines putting out 248 megawatts, and it plans on adding more.
“Beaver Creek 2, it'll be in Sweetgrass County,” said Kyle Sullivan, PSE plant manager. “It's a 25-turbine addition, which, it'll be the same turbines as we're currently operating. ”
Both of these will send electricity to Colstrip and connect with NorthWestern Energy's transmission line, and then send all the power to the state of Washington, which requires using renewable energy.
“It's very important in Washington to make sure that as we transition to that renewable energy, that we're here to provide that,” said Sullivan.
While some say open land is disappearing, sheep ranchers say this can be an opportunity.
“We have to be looking as, as agriculture, to step up and take advantage of those opportunities,” said Ben Lehfeldt, president of the American Sheep Industry Association.
Lehfeldt, a sheep rancher in Lavina, says his group is working with the American Solar Grazing Association.
They found a win-win situation.
Ranchers can get paid to have their sheep eat the grass around the solar panels.
“A lot of cases can be a solution rather than a nuisance,” Lehfeldt said. “We just want to make sure the story is told of the benefits of grazing, and one of those benefits is under solar panels. ”
Meanwhile Puget Sound lets cattle graze under the wind mill, and it leases some of its land to a rancher.
But it will keep the cattle away from the solar panels.
“We're going to impact about 1,200 acres,” Sullivan said. “And so the, remainder of that 8,000-acre ranch that we own, they'll be able to continue to use it for its purpose that it's used for now, which is agriculture."
But there are those in agriculture who have environmental concerns and see a loss of farmland.
MTN reached out to several ranchers in Stillwater County but was not able to make contact for interviews.
Puget Sound Energy says its maintenance addresses potential pollutants from solar panels and wind turbines.
“We're doing strict maintenance on all of our turbines,” Sullivan said. “GE, who does our maintenance, they do two big preventative maintenance cycles every year. ”
