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Don't start with a 5MW project. Start with a 10-20kW ground-mount project in your back yard. Then build a 100-200kW project before trying MW.

by jandrese3 hours ago|

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I think the hardest part of building a solar farm is the permitting. Many municipalities are hostile to the idea of converting farmland into solar fields, even with agrovoltaics. There are special interest groups that may come in and try to derail your project by propagandizing the local community against it. "But what will we eat?" is a propaganda point that you will hear a lot even though it's totally bogus.

If I were doing this I'd be looking for a partner that is already in the business. The politics are a lot more complicated than the technology. It would be very easy to get screwed over if you don't know which palms to grease.

by toomuchtodo2 hours ago|

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In many states, state law overrides local planning's ability to prevent siting renewables. Check if your state is one of these states if your project size requires it.

> "But what will we eat?" is a propaganda point that you will hear a lot even though it's totally bogus.

Indeed. The US farms almost 60 million acres for biofuels, the size of the state of Oregon. These arguments do not come from serious people imho. People are simply married to their rural identity and ag cosplay, despite it being wildly inefficient and subsidized by the federal government.

https://kaufman.substack.com/p/at-least-31-states-consider-o...

https://cleantomorrow.org/reports/

(have installed 100kw+ in residential solar, and have experience following along for a ~100MW project)

by triceratops3 hours ago|

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Is there a big overlap in experience building a 5MW project and a 10-20kw project? The former would involve, I imagine, more of a project manager, fund-raiser, and general contractor role for GP. The latter can be a DIY effort if they are handy and licensed. There's no way anyone is single-handedly installing the panels and inverters for a 5MW project in a reasonable timeframe.

Even the hardware, land acquisition, and permitting stories would be different, right?

by chasd004 hours ago|

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I bookmarked this thread because i'm very interested too. If AI takes all teh corporate jobs then I'm going to be a photon farmer. you can get land down in Brewster County Texas for about $1,500/acre but would need to find a spot close to a grid access point. There's some decent reddit discussions on this sort of thing.

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