On Saturday, August 12, 2017 at 11:03:19 AM UTC-4, wrote:
Not necessarily! A solar farm in Texas verses a solar farm in Florida does not compare.

It's not the temperature it reaches so much as the temperature it differentiates from its surrounding area that will trigger a thermal. In Texas, especially Uvalde, the soil is dry and typically very hot. Quite the opposite in Florida, where it's much greener and wet. If that solar farm is surrounded by forest, crops or wetlands, then it would absolutely produce a sufficient thermal.

I think Robert has hit upon a key point when comparing where the reports of limited thermal generation by solar arrays are coming from. As I mentioned earlier, these panels are replacing 400 acres of groves and will be surrounded by crops, fields, and orange groves year-round.

We know there are some key spots south of SLGP to grab a thermal off of the metal roofs of some of the modern, modular schools. I was surprised at how little surface area of metal it took to create a good 4-6kt core when flying as backseat ballast with Dave Nadler at Seniors this year. My gut says we'll be happy with the solar farm's proximity to New Hibiscus Airpark. My vario certainly was happy last week flying over the south end where the first panels were mounted. 399.8 acres to go...

The reports will be in soon enough and the results may very well differ by time of year due to the angle of the sun and the fixed orientation of the panels facing south-southwest. Until proved otherwise, I'm optimistic that it will be a good location for the afternoon launch to get up and out.

Paul A.