Blog post via ATTRA's Agrisolar Clearinghouse
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Land is limited. Agriculture, electricity production, housing, nature, etc. all compete for the same plot of land. In some areas more than in others, but the competition is everywhere. On top of that, greenhouse gas emissions keep increasing and the global temperature keeps rising, leading to more frequent natural disasters and parts of the earth becoming uninhabitable. We shouldn’t only focus on stopping the global temperature from rising, but also on climate change adaptation and multifunctional land use now that ‘good’ land is getting scarcer.
It makes sense to have at least dual land use, but preferably use land for three, four or even more purposes. Agriculture and electricity production are a really good fit that can create win-win situations. That’s why I researched what I like to call ‘Solar Sheep’ – sheep that perform vegetation management on solar farms.
A lot of research is currently being done on the impacts of solar farms on soil health and biodiversity of flora and fauna. But what about sheep? Sheep are very effective grazers, which means that they are perfect for vegetation management on solar farms. Unlike goats, sheep don’t jump on the panels and don’t chew the wires. Unlike cattle, they are not heavy and large, which means that they can easily graze under the panels. They are also great with different types of terrain, like steep, rocky hills, which are hard to navigate for (robotic) mowers. These are a few of the advantages of sheep for solar farm owners. READ MORE
