Waves of wool: drone video of 2,000 sheep at Xcel Energy's Sherco Solar project
Some of the coolest aerial shots I have ever made happened over a flock of sheep in Becker, Minnesota.
Nearly 2,000 sheep graze about 1,500 acres under the panels at Xcel Energy's Sherco Solar site in Becker, Minnesota, about an hour northwest of Minneapolis. I flew a drone over them for most of a morning and it remains some of the most fun I have had with a camera in the air.
The sheep were curious enough to wander right up to me on the ground. From a couple hundred feet up, the herd moved in waves between the blue rows of solar panels, and the footage looks like something out of a nature documentary rather than a utility project. Xcel edited the piece in house; I supplied the aerials.
Sherco is part of Xcel's shift away from coal toward solar, wind and nuclear, and the solar project is growing toward roughly 710 megawatts. I will admit I was nervous about working with a large energy company. The sustainability work won me over, including the grazing partnership with Minnesota Native Landscapes that keeps the vegetation managed by sheep rather than mowers.
Drone work is usually one piece of a larger shoot day for me, but I take standalone aerial jobs across Minnesota too. I am FAA Part 107 certified and insured, and I am happy to coordinate airspace authorizations when a site needs them.
