Community solar scheme enlists help of sheep for land upkeep: 'It's important to find opportunities'

Solar panels and sheep may sound like an unlikely combination. But when sheep can graze on the grass around solar installations, everybody wins.

CleanTechnica reported that the SunSmart Ames Community Solar Project in Ames, Iowa, is enlisting the help of sheep to eat the grass instead of using lawnmowers.

The combination of solar power generation and agriculture bumps the project into the category of agrivoltaic, a dual-use designation that holds promise for attracting more support for such projects.

Approximately 50 sheep are working to eat the grass around the solar panels and showing the world how agrivoltaics can be a model for future solar development. There are many benefits to allowing sheep to graze, including reduced costs as a mowing alternative, less toxic fumes from mowing equipment, and improved soil quality from the sheep pushing seeds into the ground.

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The presence of the sheep has gained significant public approval, which should inspire similar schemes and energy companies to explore the possibilities of agrivoltaics. The term "agrivoltaics" hasn't been around long, but the practice has demonstrated how farmers and solar companies can work together in mutually beneficial ways. CleanTechnica reported how agrivoltaics helps farmers by improving pollination, bringing in more agricultural profits, and preserving beneficial insect populations.

"It's important to find opportunities for these projects to benefit people, beyond just providing renewable electricity," said Anne Kimber, the director of the Iowa State University's Electric Power Research Center.

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Building public awareness about how traditional agriculture and sustainable energy can coexist and work together to achieve mutual goals may be the key to pushing forward ambitious solar projects that might otherwise hit roadblocks in rural areas. Whether you're an individual or a business, installing solar panels is one of the most impactful things you can do to save money and conserve resources.

"I suppose anywhere it is hot and sunny, livestock benefit from shade," one reader commented on the CleanTechnica article. "If you are going to construct a shade structure, why not solar panels."

"It also shows that arguments about 'installing solar panels on farm land prevents it being used for farming' are incorrect ... and that this applies not just to a stereotypical solar-over-crops setup, but also to solar-over-livestock," commented another reader.