Windmills have been the lifelines for remote areas of American ranches for nearly 150 years. They have helped to increase areas for livestock grazing by providing water and power where there exists none or access is severely limited. But the horizon of the American West is changing.
Solar technology has progressed to a point where it is proving to be very competitive to its wind powered counterpart. American ranchers are adopting this technology instead of the little evolved windmills.
Wind energy has also progressed but solar offers some benefits that ranchers cannot afford to ignore anymore. One of it is low cost of maintenance. Scott Blakeley, owner of Pronghorn Pump and Repair in Glenrock says,
“Primarily because of the mechanical problems that you have. You fix one issue on a windmill today, something else is broke tomorrow. And in August, when you need water the most, the wind blows the least in Wyoming, and in most Western states.”
Windmills and pumps based on them continue to exist of course. But when one of the old systems breaks down, ranchers are giving the solar energy option a serious thought. A typical windmill replacement or repair cost comes to around $5,000. The cost of a new solar pump varies according to the system, but it ranges from $4,500 to more than $10,000.
Mike Morris, farm energy team leader for the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service says,
“If (windmills) are working and meeting the needs of the farm, there’s not a reason to go change it. But when it breaks and you have to do something different, I would think that if you’re far from power, solar is going to be extremely competitive if not the best option in many or most cases.”
Solar pumps have less moving parts than windmills and that means they are less likely to breakdown. Maintenance work on windmills is hard work and it is increasingly becoming difficult to find manpower to do the arduous work.
Solar pumps are also dependent on the uncertainties of the weather, but ranchers can buffer themselves against cloudy days by building tanks that can hold several days of water. Despite the shifting winds of change, windmills haven’t completely lost out. Some ranchers continue to maintain their windmills while some are discouraged by the initial costs of solar pumps. For now, the two alternative energy options continue to do their job alongside each other.
Image: gbaku
