There are 52 active solar farms in the state of Virginia.

(bright music) They produce more than five megawatts of electricity.

(bright music) Each megawatt can power around 750 homes.

We're talking about renewable energy, today, on "Spotlight Earth".

(bright music) We are here at the Polar Solar Facility here in Middlesex County.

And as I sit at the top, this is one of 52 active solar farms in the state, as of today, the day we are shooting.

And there's a good chance there'll be even more by the time you see this.

This type of energy generation is growing more accessible to more people every day.

Solar is one of several forms of renewable energy being developed and incorporated into our power grid.

To learn more about the way we supercharge our lives through renewable energy, let's check in with Ellen and the "Spotlight Earth" Studios.

Thanks, Jarrell.

Looks like a perfect day for solar energy.

And as you mentioned, solar is just one type of renewable energy that is changing the face of the power industry.

(bright music) Before we dive into different kinds of renewable energy, let's figure out just exactly what we mean when we say renewable energy.

It's an energy source that can be naturally replenished quickly.

The sun comes out every day and it's always on.

Wind will always blow.

Water is always flowing.

So let's start with wind energy.

Wind turbines are a technology used to harness wind as a renewable energy source.

When wind blows past a windmill, it turns the blades, which in turn rotates the turbine creating electricity.

These are best located in places where it's always breezy.

Think open planes, the ocean, and mountains.

According to the US Department of Energy, as of 2022, wind power generates just over 10% of the United States power and is growing.

Okay, moving on now to hydroelectric.

Hydropower is one of humans' oldest sources of renewable energy.

So the prefix hydro.

Yeah, that means water.

Hydroelectric power is the power derived from moving water.

Like wind power, turbines are employed, but it's water that runs through them.

The force generates an electrical current, which is distributed to power lines.

Usually, this works as part of a dam like the Hoover Dam, the Grand Coulee Dam, and the Glen Canyon Dam, just to name a few.

The US Department of Energy says that as of 2023, hydropower is more than 28% of all renewable electricity generated in the US.

Next renewable, biomass.

Biomass is the only renewable energy source that can be changed to liquid biofuels, like ethanol and biodiesel.

It is made from plant and algae-based materials.

If we break down the word biofuel, we see the prefix bio, which means life.

Burning things like wood, cotton, and grasses are considered biomass.

When we burn these items, it creates energy known as bioenergy.

This is similar to how burning coal or oil generates energy, but the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere when burning biomass is recaptured by the same plants that are the source of this energy through photosynthesis, which makes it essentially carbon neutral.

Biomass renewable resources are used either as a fuel or converted to another form of energy.

And last, but certainly not least, is solar energy.

In the US, residential solar energy adoption has increased.

The United States Department of Energy says that in 2019, more than 2 million solar energy systems were operating across the United States.

And for details on that, let's send it back to Jarrell at the solar farm.

Thanks, Ellen.

Yes, solar energy works when the panels collect the energy from the sun.

These solar panels are photovoltaic cells.

They absorb the sunlight and convert it to energy, which gets stored in a battery or moved to power lines.

Some solar panels are designed to move as the day goes on so that they're getting the maximum amount of sunlight.

For more on the burgeoning solar energy industry, we're joined here by Ross Millikan of Dominion Energy, the company that operates Polar Solar.

So Ross, can you tell me about what you do?

Yeah, thank you, Jarrell.

So our main focus is making sure that we operate these sites efficiently and safely for all the customers that we have, as well as the technicians that are in the field.

So tell us how solar panels work?

Yeah, good question.

So the solar panels work by converting the sunlight into electricity.

And then, that electricity's DC like a battery, if you think about it in those terms.

And then we take it to an inverter.

That inverter then switches into the AC and then goes out to the grid.

How big is this solar farm?

So this is about 120 acres, and about 15 megawatts.

If you think about that in terms of houses, it's a little over 3,500 homes at peak output that we're powering with this site.

So do these solar panels move at all?

They do.

So they track the sun throughout the day.

And they're using a pre-programmed algorithm to do that.

How do you guys maintain this property that we're at right now?

Sure.

So you can imagine 120 acres is a lot of land to maintain.

So one of the things that we've used and are piloting right now is sheep.

Sheep?

Yeah, we have about 100 head of sheep.

Out here?

Out here, out on the site, and they're helping us maintain this vegetation.

Nice!

So that's a big piece of it.

And then a lot of it is weekly inspections.

And more frequently, depending on the weather and rain and everything like that.

So where does the power go?

Does it go into a battery or does it go into the grid?

Yeah, that's a great question.

So it hits the grid.

At this site, there's no battery storage.

We do have some sites with battery storage, but this one, it goes right under the grid and then used by the customers as soon as it's energized.

So let's get into some of the pros and cons of solar energy.

Sure.

So one of the pros is that it's renewable energy.

We build it, and then we just produce energy from these panels.

One of the shadow sides or challenges of solar is the fact that we're not producing around the clock.

We require the sun in order to produce that energy.

And as a result, we need wind.

We need other fuel sources, battery storage in order to back us up.

Certainly, once the site's built, all the energy we're producing is carbon free.

And that's a big benefit.

A big one.

That's right.

Ross, thank you so much, man.

A lot of important stuff you guys are doing here.

It's big time for Virginians.

We really appreciate what you're doing.

Thanks again for your time.

Absolutely, thanks for coming out.

Yeah, man.

(bright music) Ellen, can you tell us a bit about the ecological impact of renewable resources?

Absolutely, Jarrell.

Anytime you make electricity from renewable or non-renewable sources, there are impacts to the environment.

For fossil fuels and biofuels, CO2 emissions are a big issue because they can increase the greenhouse effect, which leads to climate change.

Our renewable energy sources can affect things too.

For hydroelectric power, there needs to be a dam, or turbines in the water, which have long-term ecological impacts on the body of water's environment.

It takes space to generate wind and solar power.

And the batteries can be an issue as well, like what do we do with them when we're done?

Also, wind and solar are not as consistent.

If there's no wind, there is no power, and you can't collect solar power at night.

Take it from me, the best thing we can do is work to conserve our energy so we don't need to make as much.

If you want to conserve energy, you can turn off the lights when you leave a room, set your thermostat warmer in the summer and cooler in the winter.

Unplug things you aren't using.

Little things add up to a big difference.

If we all do these little things, we can conserve the resources we have.

Let's check back in with Jarrell at Polar Solar as the sun sets on another episode.

(bright music) Thanks, Ellen.

Yep, just a quick shout out to our friends here at Polar Solar and Dominion Energy.

We've learned lots about solar and other renewable energy sources today.

And we learned that if we can work together to slow down or stop wasteful use of our resources, we can have a cleaner and brighter tomorrow.

Thanks for watching.

See you next time on "Spotlight Earth".

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