Germana Carillo In the States we have been thinking about how to make photovoltaic parks coexist with nature for a while now. Here, many companies are opting for “solar grazing”, i.e. the sustainable management of vegetation under photovoltaic systems. With sheep. A practice that is certainly not new but which, in the USA and Australia, is becoming increasingly widespread as more investors turn towards green energy
@Canva
On 100,000 acres at 500 solar energy sites in 27 states, about 80,000 sheep graze, munching their way into nooks and crannies under solar panels that big mowers can’t cut. This is the revolution of sheep and “Solar Grazing” that has taken off in the U.S., from New York to California.
The objective? To minimize the green transition’s environmental impact by paying local farmers to run sheep underneath and around the panels to stop the grass from growing too tall, as the Financial Times says.
In other words, solar farms rent out sheep to keep grass levels low-a market in the U.S. growing by about 10% annually and expected to be worth $9.3 billion by 2031.
ASGA, the non-profit trade organisation said that
“Sheep are resourceful grazers, walking around in search of vegetation that would otherwise become a nuisance for solar farms.” They add that “for the safety of existing low-mounted solar panels, goats, cows, pigs and horses are not recommended.”
Why solar grazing?
Large, ground-mounted photovoltaic systems continue to increase in both size and number across the country. Meanwhile, the most desired locations for solar projects continue to be cultivated land. Key reasons that solar grazing makes sense are as follows:
- Solar grazing keeps agricultural land in production, enabling farmers to increase and diversify their income without taking land away from food production.
- It contributes dairy, meat, and wool to regional markets.
- This reduces or eliminates the need for mowing over solar sites, reducing emissions and the cost.
- In the case of solar grazing, vegetation at solar sites is being transformed for use both as a food source and a grazing area for sheep.
And if those aren’t enough, per a recent report on New South Wales, Australia farm-installed solar sites, sheep grazing under solar panels produced better, more wool in four years.
The latest development?
Texas Sheep Co. agreed to provide roughly 6,000 sheep to the eight Enel North America solar parks across Texas, a group of projects spread over some 10,000 acres.
