PBS高端访谈:山羊为太阳能发电做出的贡献（在线收听）

JUDY WOODRUFF: With solar power farms popping up around the country comes the task of controlling vegetation growth under and around the panels. From the Cronkite School of Journalism, Amanda Mason brings us one unique mowing system.

AMANDA MASON: The Red Horse solar and wind project provides Tucson Electric Power with up to 71 megawatts of clean power a year.

JOSEPH BARRIOS, Tucson Electric Power: Solar power is great in many ways. It's good for the environment. The cost of installing and delivering solar power is coming down all the time.

AMANDA MASON: Joseph Barrios is the spokesperson for Tucson Electric Power.

JOSEPH BARRIOS: And one the things that we look for are ways to make solar energy more reliable.

AMANDA MASON: And that reliability depends a lot on keeping grass from growing too high. Enter 200 sheep whose appetites help keep 250,000 solar panels on 1,300 acres operating.

RUSTY COCKE, Rancher: Easy, Katie. Easy. Take them slow. Take them slow.

AMANDA MASON: Rusty Coke is a sixth-generation Arizonan rancher who has leased his sheep out to the solar field for close to two years.

RUSTY COCKE: Well, sheep, because there, they don't eat, they don't eat wires, like goats, they're small enough, like, when the panels, when they oscillate, and they're real low on the ground, you can't really run cattle out here to keep them down.

AMANDA MASON: If the sheep weren't here, the grass would be growing to about this height, which would create a problem for the solar panels, because the solar panels are moving in order to capture the sun. And if the grass is too tall, then they only collect about half of the energy needed.

The solar field provides power to 211 homes per year. So, every solar panel matters. And that means every sheep needs to do its job, which isn't without its challenges, including protecting them from predators, such as eagles and coyotes. Enter Luciano and his canine friends. At least three dogs are responsible for this herd of herbivores.

RUSTY COCKE: The dogs are what make the whole deal possible. If it wasn't for the dogs, the predators would pick them apart.

AMANDA MASON: Extra protection is provided by humans.

RUSTY COCKE: So, after a while, I just got so distressed about losing sheep, that I brought them home and let them have the babies at my house. And then I brought them back after they were a couple years old. And when I brought them home, my daughter went crazy and started naming all of them.

RUSTY COCKE: She's 8 years old, and she loves them.

AMANDA MASON: It's not cheap to maintain a live mowing system. But Tucson Electric Power says the extra effort makes it possible to bring clean power to their customers. For the PBS NewsHour, I'm Amanda Mason with Cronkite News in Willcox, Arizona.

JUDY WOODRUFF: One of those stories you have to love. Online, as Hurricane Lane barrels down on Hawaii, we explore how this storm is reminiscent of Hurricane Harvey, which made landfall in Texas a year ago Saturday. That's on our Web site, PBS.org/NewsHour.

朱蒂·伍德拉夫：太阳能发电厂在全国各地纷纷涌现，控制太阳能电池板下方及其周边植被的生长成为了问题。来自克朗凯特新闻学院的阿曼达·梅森为我们带来了一种独特的割草系统。

阿曼达·梅森：Red Horse太阳能和风能项目每年为图森电力提供高达71兆瓦的清洁能源。

约瑟夫·巴里奥斯，图森电力公司：太阳能在很多方面都表现出色。它不破换环境。太阳能的安装和交付成本一直在下降。

阿曼达·梅森：约瑟夫·巴里奥斯是图森电力的发言人。

约瑟夫·巴里奥斯：我们找寻的是让太阳能变得更加可靠的方法。

阿曼达·梅森：这种可靠性很大程度上取决于控制野草生长的高度。我们引进200只绵羊，它们的食欲能帮助我们保护1,300英亩土地上250,000块太阳能电池板。

拉斯提·柯克，牧场主：简单，凯蒂。简单。慢慢吃吧。慢慢吃吧。

阿曼达·梅森：拉斯提·柯克是亚利桑那州第六代牧场主，他将绵羊出租给这个太阳能场已近两年时间。

拉斯提·柯克：嗯，羊，因为那里，他们不吃，他们不吃电线，如山羊，它们体型足够小，就像，当面板，当它们振荡时，它们真的在地面上很低的位置，你不能真的放牛到这里来除草。

阿曼达·梅森：如果没有这些绵羊，草会长到这个高度，这会给太阳能电池板带来问题，因为太阳能电池板正在追逐太阳。如果草太高，那么它们只能收集大约一半的能量。这个太阳能场每年为211个家庭提供电力。因此，每个太阳能电池板都很重要。这意味着每只绵羊都需要完成它的工作，这并非没有挑战，包括保护它们免受老鹰和土狼等掠食者的攻击。英特·卢西亚诺和他的犬友。至少有三只狗负责保护这群食草动物。

拉斯提·柯克：有了狗，整个交易才成为可能。如果它不适合狗，掠食者会将它们分开。

阿曼达·梅森：人类提供额外保护。

拉斯提·柯克：所以，过了一会儿，我对失去绵羊，感到非常痛苦，于是我带他们回家，让他们把这些宝贝送到我家。然后他们长大几岁以后，我又把它们带了回来。当我把它们带回家时，我的女儿疯了，开始逐一为它们起名字。

拉斯提·柯克：她已经8岁了，她很喜欢他们。

阿曼达·梅森：养活这些活羊割草系统并不便宜。但图森电力表示，额外的努力可以为客户带来清洁能源。PBS《新闻时报》，我是阿曼达·梅森，与亚利桑那州威尔科克斯的《Cronkite新闻》联合报道。

朱蒂·伍德拉夫：这个故事您一定会喜欢。在线，随着飓风“雷恩”肆虐夏威夷，我们来看这场风暴如何让人想起飓风“哈维”，“哈维”在一年前的星期六登陆德克萨斯州。您可登录我们的网站，PBS.org/NewsHour。