Sheep Grazing to Maintain Solar Energy Sites in Pennsylvania

 

 

Solar energy is experiencing significant growth in Pennsylvania with new ground-mounted solar arrays being installed in several regions of the state. Some estimates place long term utility scale solar energy development at 80,000 acres in Pennsylvania by 2030. Solar installations require large scale effort to maintain the site. Vegetation needs to be maintained to function as ground cover, but at the same time remain under control. Maintaining deployed solar energy sites is a significant expense for solar energy companies.

 

Sheep and lamb inventories in the United States, and specifically in Pennsylvania, have steadily declined over the past 75 years. According to USDA historical figures, the national inventory of sheep and lambs peaked at 49,000,000 head in 1942, dropped to 17,726,000 head by 1973, and dropped further to 9,000,000 head by 1989. Today there are 5,200,000 sheep and lambs in the United States. In Pennsylvania, the inventory was 160,000 head in 1971 and dropped to 96,000 head by January 2020. At the same time, there has been considerable growth in ethnic populations in the northeastern United States, many of whom consider meat from sheep and lambs to be one of their primary, preferred meats. Much of this market is supplied by sheep and lambs trucked from long distances or imported. Efforts to encourage sheep production in Pennsylvania and surrounding states have been on-going.

 

Sheep grazing has proven to be a successful way to maintain solar energy sites in many states. Furthermore, grazing sheep has been found to be more cost-effective than a more traditional approach using people, machinery, and herbicides at similar locations.

 

Concerns have been raised regarding losing productive farmland for solar establishment. Densely designed solar arrays are not conducive to operation of modern farm equipment. Sheep grazing has been identified as one way to make productive agricultural use from land that is also being used for solar energy generation.

 

 

Solar energy can be generated from a variety of deployed systems, including from units that attach to houses and building roofs. Ground-mounted systems can encompass anywhere from a few acres to hundreds of acres. Generally, community scale solar is in the range of 10-50 acres. Utility scale systems are typically larger and can run to hundreds of acres. Some ground-mounted solar systems are engineered to track with the movement of the sun.

 

 

Sheep are currently being used to successfully control vegetation between ground mounted solar arrays. Sheep physically fit under the solar panels and can graze all parts of the land area. Sheep are complete grazers and will not only graze grasses and legumes, but also forbs, including various weeds. Anecdotal reports indicate grazing sheep doing a more complete job of removing vegetation compared to people with weed-whackers. Experience has shown that any breed of sheep can potentially be used. Hair sheep breeds are popular choices among sheep owners who have ventured into solar farm grazing.

 

Livestock owners frequently ask questions regarding using other ruminant livestock species to graze between solar arrays. Cattle are too large for typical solar systems and can subsequently damage equipment. Furthermore, cattle physically cannot graze under the lower parts of the panels. This leaves significant land area unable to be maintained by grazing cattle. A solar array designated to be grazed by cattle, before installation, can be designed with the solar panels on pedestals that will allow cattle to graze under the whole system.

 

Goats can graze under all parts of a solar array. However, due to their curious nature and tendency to climb, goats are not recommended for maintaining solar arrays. There have been reports of goats damaging panels with their hooves while climbing on them. Also, there have been reports of chewing damage from goats.

 

 

Questions that emerge in discussion about grazing sheep under solar panels include what class of animal will work best, how does lambing fit in, and what forage species work best for grazing on a solar farm. This type of enterprise presents obvious constraints on what can and can’t be done.

 

Agronomic aspects, such as soil fertility, compaction, erosion gullies, and forage establishment are ideally addressed well ahead of installation of solar arrays, while operation of machinery is still possible. Even if you are a landowner who is not in the sheep business, addressing the agronomic concerns ahead of installation will make your farm more attractive to a livestock owner interested in maintaining the solar farm with sheep.

 

Establishment of forage species for grazing can be accomplished much more effectively before solar arrays are installed. Once the solar panels are there, establishing pasture under the panels will be impractical, and establishing new pasture between panel rows could only be accomplished with very small equipment. Study soil characteristics to make sure you select the right plant species for the conditions. Currently, some seed companies are marketing pasture species mixtures designed for solar farm grazing application.

 

Most solar arrays are surrounded by secure fencing. Sheep owners do not need to install perimeter fencing on the property, although there can be occasional problems where there is a gap between the bottom of the fence and the soil in undulating terrain or eroded areas. Sheep owners need to set up their own temporary interior fencing to manage rotational grazing inside the perimeter fence.

 

The secure fencing around the perimeter of solar arrays makes the grazing area basically secure from terrestrial predators. Although bald eagles and black vultures have caused predation issues with sheep, most of the problems have been with very young lambs. Some solar sheep grazers use guard dogs, but most do not.

 

Sheep owners need to provide water in most situations. For most producers, this has been manageable since sheep are efficient water consumers. At various points in the grazing season, sheep do not consume water in addition to what is already available in the forage. Water can easily be hauled in plastic totes or drums and taken to where it is needed on the property.

 

Sheep owners grazing solar arrays have found that the panels provide necessary shade for the sheep and the infrastructure functions as a windbreak as well on the colder ends of the grazing season. Interestingly, an anecdotal observation among solar grazing sheep owners is that the panels do not impede productive forage growth by shading.

 

Most sheep owners who graze sheep within solar arrays do not lamb at the site or take ewes with lambs to the site. Some have found that an early lambing system, where lambs are weaned before the grazing season begins, works well. After weaning lambs, dry ewes are transported to solar farms to spend the grazing season doing maintenance at the site.

 

Other sheep owners have found that they can successfully and profitably maintain a flock of dry ewes for grazing. Another possibility may be using a flock of wethers or yearling ewes to graze each season. Each producer interested in grazing solar farms will need to carefully consider their own resources to decide what will work best in their situation.

 

For mature ewes, experience in New York and Michigan indicates that a typical stocking rate is 3 ewes/acre. As with any discussion of stocking rate, the carrying capacity of the land needs to be considered as it can be impacted both positively and negatively by variations in soil quality and fertility.

 

 

As a sheep owner, you need to be compensated for grazing under these large commercial solar arrays. Do not approach this as a ‘free grazing’ opportunity. Any custom grazing enterprise should be given careful business consideration before entering into a contract. The sheep owner should consider the costs incurred throughout the whole process. These include livestock maintenance in the off-season, transportation, portable handling equipment, labor, etc. Surveys of sheep owners who graze solar arrays conducted by Cornell University reported direct contract grazing fees in the eastern United States averaging $326/acre and in New York averaging $555/acre. These figures are for grazing during the whole season, typically from April through October. In some cases, grazing services are contracted through a landscape company for a somewhat lower fee per acre versus direct contracting.

 

Sample contracts are available from the American Solar Grazing Association.

 

Sheep owners considering grazing solar farms need to discuss this enterprise with their insurance agent. Your insurance agent can recommend how to extend your coverage to the grazing site. This has not been an obstacle to making solar grazing arrangements successful.

 

As mentioned earlier, experience in other states has shown that using sheep to maintain solar farms can lower maintenance costs for the solar energy companies compared to traditional maintenance approaches. Furthermore, sheep grazing eliminates the risk of damage from tractors or mowers bumping into solar equipment or mowers throwing stones that can damage solar panels. These facts place sheep owners in a strong position to secure a favorable grazing contract.

 

 

Working under contract to graze solar arrays involves more communication than what many livestock owners are accustomed to. The sheep grazer will need to communicate with the operations manager for the site. The sheep owner will also need to communicate with company employees who will be onsite performing routine maintenance on a weekly to monthly basis. For example, closing and securing gates is a common concern. Some sheep owners opt to offer training for company employees so they know what to expect with the livestock grazing. Keep in mind that most of the company employees probably have no experience whatsoever with livestock. Some sheep owners have found it beneficial to have signage with their contact information for company employees in the event they have questions or concerns.

 

Some sheep owners are required to use personal protective equipment, such as a hardhat and safety vest, when at the sites. This requirement may be negotiable in the grazing contract.

 

Sheep owners who provide grazing services should be aware that they may be more likely to receive questions from the general public, especially if the animals are easily viewed. This communication will involve educating people regarding sheep husbandry and welfare. Explaining production practices in a non-defensive manner is important to develop a positive image.

 

 

Providing sheep grazing services to manage vegetation provides opportunities and challenges. Producers are cautioned to not just think of this as ‘free grazing’. Careful consideration is needed on several production and business aspects. If you don’t currently manage grazing on your home farm, then entering into a contract grazing arrangement is not advised. Furthermore, if you do not generally care to communicate with people, this type of enterprise may not be advised.

 

There are many potential benefits to this enterprise. Obviously it has the potential to raise your farm income and can be viewed as a growth area for your farm. It can be a way to diversify and provide an income stream not tied to the sheep/lamb commodity market.

 

From a production standpoint, a custom grazing arrangement effectively increases your acreage and may allow you to devote more land at home to producing stored forage for winter. Also, moving sheep to a solar array for all or part of the grazing season can help alleviate difficult parasite problems on pastures at home.

 

Providing grazing services can bring its share of challenges as well. One challenge may be not having enough wintering space for the number of sheep needed to maintain a solar farm. Another problem is under-grazing of fenced acreage at the home farm.

 

Sheep owners in the solar array grazing business report driving time and distance as a challenge. Furthermore, investment in a trailer, handling equipment, watering equipment, and mineral feeders can be a challenge.

 

 

Sheep are very well-suited to maintain solar arrays and have proven to be a cost-effective option for solar power companies. Sheep owners interested in contracting to graze sheep on a solar array need to consider many production and business questions. Communication is an important aspect of this type of grazing enterprise.

 

Sheep owners interested in providing grazing services to maintain a solar array need to fully understand the opportunities and challenges within the constraints of their time and resources.

 

Sheep numbers have declined for over 75 years in the United States. That decline has also affected Pennsylvania. However, Pennsylvania is situated near a large population center that includes large ethnic populations who are frequent consumers of sheep/lamb meat. Although the current inventory of sheep and lambs in Pennsylvania could not service the maintenance needs of the projected solar industry growth in the state, it is conceivable that the solar energy sheep grazing enterprise may be an avenue for growth in the sheep and lamb business to help supply regional markets in the future.