By Chris Lunghino
SNIPESVILLE, Ga. | Though the renewable energy facilities that help Walton EMC power Meta’s Newton Data Center are often called “solar farms,” they would more accurately be described as “solar ranches,” especially in the way that Walton EMC’s partner, Silicon Ranch, manages them.
When Meta (then known as “Facebook”) decided to build its Newton Data Center near Social Circle, Ga., the social media giant chose Walton EMC of Monroe as the power supplier. One of the deciding factors in picking the co-operative was that it could meet the company’s desire for 100 percent renewable energy to power the facility. Walton EMC then partnered with Silicon Ranch to fund, build, and deliver that renewable energy.
Silicon Ranch is one of the nation’s largest independent power producers and has a unique commitment to own and operate each project for the long-term, including the land their projects occupy.
To help Walton EMC deliver the renewable energy that Meta requires, Silicon Ranch has, to date, invested nearly $700 million across seven Georgia counties, most of which are primarily agricultural communities. Through the projects, Silicon Ranch will also support these counties on an ongoing basis for years to come through millions of dollars in tax payments, charitable contributions, and other support for local institutions.
Typically, the land occupied by solar panels becomes fallow, as once-cultivated land lies idle. At most solar facilities, the land is mowed occasionally, but any agricultural production or cultivation ceases.
Rather than continue this standard of practice, Silicon Ranch has introduced a better way of managing its land with its holistic “Regenerative Energy” platform. Regenerative Energy marries solar energy generation and regenerative land management and agriculture practices on one parcel of land to generate power, heal the land, and give farmers the ability to feed, employ, and sustain future generations right where they live and work. Sheep are used for this process, something new in Georgia.
Recognizing its responsibility as a long-term steward of the land it owns, Silicon Ranch is using this method of land management at its projects with Walton EMC. Many of these solar ranches, including Bancroft Station Ranch in Early County and Snipesville Ranch in Jeff Davis County, employ adaptively managed sheep grazing as the primary means of vegetation management and soil restoration. This type of grazing uses the impact of large hooved livestock, including their waste, to fertilize and restore the soil, fueling plant growth and building valuable organic matter beneath the surface.
In some cases, the company partners with local ranchers, such as Georgia-and world-renowned regenerative rancher Will Harris of White Oak Pastures of Bluffton, to care for the land.
Silicon Ranch has also invested in the capability to perform these services in-house for regions where it is unable to identify a local partner. In 2021, the company launched a first-of-its-kind “agrivoltaics” operations and maintenance program at its Snipesville Solar Ranch. Agrivoltaics is any agricultural production among solar arrays — crop cultivation, aquaponics, pollinator habitat, or livestock production. Under Silicon Ranch’s innovative program, the company trains and employs “agrivoltaic technicians” to implement both regenerative land management and non-technical, non-electric solar maintenance.
Where Silicon Ranch performs the work with its own agrivoltaic technicians, it also uses its own flock of sheep. The flock, which resides at Snipesville Solar Ranch and now numbers approximately 1,000, is expected to grow to 10,000 by 2030 to stock new solar ranches across Georgia. The company is working with local Georgia sheep breeders to improve the genetics of the flock through the National Sheep Improvement Program.
Here are benefits supporting Regenerative Energy
Regenerative Energy projects provide an array of important benefits:
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- Healthier soil and re-establishment of topsoil;
- More carbon trapped in the soil;
- Improved air and water quality;
- More diverse animal and plant life;
- Food and economic security;
- Education partnerships;
- Recycling or re-use of panels at end-of-life, fueling the growing domestic solar
- manufacturing industry;
- Creation of new jobs for the rural workforce;
- Support for local businesses, including veterinarians, seed, feed, and fencing suppliers, and water and fence infrastructure businesses;
- Recycling or re-use of panels at end-of-life also fuels the growing domestic solar manufacturing industry.
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