Solar Farm Vegetation Management

The solar energy industry has many vegetation and storm water management issues to overcome. Controlling vegetation is a major concern for solar farms of all sizes. Left untreated, undesirable vegetation will inhibit the functionality of the farm, damage the structure of panels, obscure and damage fence lines, create security vulnerabilities, obstruct the flow of stormwater, and create an unpleasing appearance.

The nature of the industry dictates that solar farms are in large open fields. Selective herbicides and growth-regulating chemistries play a vital role in controlling tall weeds and grasses, seed head suppression, and promoting the growth of desirable, low growing grasses. Selective weed control combined with growth regulation and seed head suppression also makes the solar farm industry more profitable for its owners and more visually appealing for the public.

Some areas function better when maintained as weed-free environments. Parking lots, roadways, and other gravel areas require total vegetation (bare ground) applications. Fence lines are treated to prevent vegetation from creating security issues and destroying the fence.

Maintaining turf through weed control and plant growth regulation herbicide applications is key to any cost-effective vegetation management program. However, most sites will need to be mowed a minimum of one or two times each year. Opterra Solutions offers a complete vegetation management program that includes mechanical mowing as required.

All solar farms have stormwater management systems. They can be a simple system of ditches or they can be much more complicated. Opterra can reclaim, repair, or maintain any stormwater management system. These include retention ponds, detention ponds, retention & bio swales, drainage ditches, bio-retention ponds, catch basins, and underground retaining systems.