Sheep are powering a green revolution — and not just with their wool.
According to FarmProgress, farmers and energy companies across North America are teaming up to manage solar farms with sheep instead of machines or chemicals.
Known as agrivoltaics, or solar grazing, this practice controls vegetation under and around solar panels to make them more efficient while supporting agriculture.
Typically, solar energy farms require mowing to keep grass and vegetation from growing high enough to block the panels from absorbing maximum sunlight. An analysis published in Sustainability found that the average cost of solar farm mowing was $265 per acre every year. Community Solar Authority states that, generally, a solar farm needs 5-10 acres of land to generate just 1 megawatt of energy. That could translate to about $1,325 to $2,650 per year in mowing costs for a small solar farm.
But as grazers, sheep control the growth of grass and vegetation naturally. By bringing sheep onto solar farms, operators can cut costs and reduce gas-powered mowing pollution. They can also avoid using harmful herbicides to kill weeds and other vegetation that could interfere with solar panels, making their maintenance a cleaner process.
Kade Hodges, a Texas sheep farmer who offers vegetation management services to solar farms, told FarmProgress that solar grazing isn't necessarily a new practice. However, it's not very common for large-scale solar farms of 600 acres or more. "We bring in our sheep and rotate them around, targeting the places grass needs to be shortened the most," said Hodges.
What's really exciting about this breakthrough is that it could benefit farmers and sheep as much as solar farm operators.
Sheep can stay safe from predators thanks to fencing that usually surrounds solar farms, and solar panels can provide shade and shelter from the hot sun and rain, according to the American Solar Grazing Association. Farmers can earn extra income by offering solar grazing services to existing farms or by welcoming solar farms on their sheep land.
Solar grazing is just one of many ways the agriculture and renewable energy industries are working together. Another example is anaerobic digestors, which convert animal manure into clean energy. Installing solar panels on apple farms may also help balance sunlight between apple trees and solar panels to optimize apple growth.
As solar grazing proves its value, more farmers and energy companies might turn to it to boost sustainability. This could allow it to become a standard feature of solar farms.
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