Solar stock tanks protect pasture land and history
A stone's throw from the historic Oregon Trail, rancher Rob Hellyer is pioneering new water supplies for livestock with the help of modern alternative energy technology and High Plains Power, Inc.
Located near Lander, Wyo., the segment of the famous westward route known as South Pass is a wide, level gap in the Rocky Mountains that allowed wagons to cross the Continental Divide. The landscape today looks much as it did 160 years ago, miles away from civilization—and power lines.
Hellyer's livestock permit allowed him to graze his 200 head of Black Angus cattle on the public and private lands near the protected trail, but there wasn't a drop of water for 16 square miles. "Cattle can only travel so far to drink," he explained. "If I wanted to use that grass, I had to develop watering sources."
PV technology best suits rancher's needs
And he had to do it without impacting the integrity of a national historic landmark. That ruled out wind power, since a turbine large enough to power the pumps for Buffalo Gulch Reservoir and the Long Gulch well would have interfered with the sight line. The cost of stringing even a single-phase overhead power line to the two sites was prohibitive, and like the turbine, would have disturbed the view. Also, securing right-of-way on public land could have added time and expense to the project.
"There was never really any question in my mind that it had to be solar," said Hellyer, who was familiar with photovoltaic technology from trade magazines and from solar-powered electric fences widely in use on farms and ranches. "These watering stations are really isolated, so I needed the most reliable equipment I could get, and that's solar."
Co-op secures equipment at a discount
Hellyer contacted his electricity provider, High Plains Power, Inc. "Basically, we acted as the middle man on the project," said Dan Husted, High Plains' member services director. "As an electric utility and a fairly large business, we were able to get a better purchase price on the equipment Mr. Hellyer needed, and because we are a cooperative, we passed the savings on to him."
The Riverton, Wyo., utility also carried the financing briefly while Hellyer lined up his funding sources. Those sources include the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Lander and Rock Springs, Wyo., grazing boards and the non-profit Water for Wildlife Foundation.
The only requirement High Plains placed on the project was that Hellyer hire a licensed electrician to do the installation. "That expertise is essential if you want the job done right, especially when the equipment is located so far from technical assistance," added Husted, echoing Hellyer's assertion that reliability was a critical factor for an application as isolated as the water stations.
Simple systems ensure reliability in remote locations
The nearest facility to the Buffalo Gulch and Long Gulch watering systems is a century-old cow camp located some 12 miles from Buffalo Gulch on rut roads. "And add another 12 miles if I check every tank," said Hellyer.
The camp itself is 50 miles from Hellyer's home ranch. "That's 30 miles on pavement and another 15 or 20 of rut road studded with rocks that can puncture a tire," he clarified. "You don't want to make that trip any more than you have to."
His choice of relatively simple systems will help keep maintenance visits to a minimum. At Long Gulch, three 165-watt PV modules power a submersible helical rotor pump to draw on a well. The runover supplies drinking water for wildlife. The pond-bottom pump in Buffalo Gulch Reservoir uses the electricity generated by eight 120-watt panels to feed a 10,000-gallon storage tank and four troughs. Hellyer built both arrays in low visibility areas and equipped each with a tracker to follow the sun. The storage tank ensures the water supply against the occasional overcast day.
Photovoltaic technology provided Hellyer with a cost-effective way to improve his stock's distribution on available grazing lands while protecting a national landmark. He plans to add a third solar watering station this spring, and offers this advice for others who might want to consider alternative energy for remote applications: "Look at other systems first to see what's available and what suits your needs. And talk to your co-op. They can help."