Booming solar farms in the U.S. put thousands of hungry sheep to work

Sheep graze on solar farms in Texas, part of a growing trend in agrivoltaics combining solar energy and agriculture.

On rural Texas farmland, beneath hundreds of rows of solar panels, a troop of stocky sheep rummage through pasture, casually bumping into one another as they remain committed to a single task: chewing grass.

The booming solar industry has found an unlikely mascot in sheep as large-scale solar farms crop up across the U.S. and in the plain fields of Texas. In Milam County, outside Austin, SB Energy operates the fifth-largest solar project in the country, capable of generating 900 megawatts of power across 4,000 acres (1,618 hectares).

How do they manage all that grass? With the help of about 3,000 sheep, which are better suited than lawnmowers to fit between small crevices and chew away rain or shine.

The proliferation of sheep on solar farms is part of a broader trend — solar grazing — that has exploded alongside the solar industry.

Agrivoltaics, a method using land for both solar energy production and agriculture, is on the rise with more than 60 solar grazing projects in the U.S., according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The American Solar Grazing Association says 27 States engage in the practice.

“The industry tends to rely on gas-powered mowers, which kind of contradicts the purpose of renewables,” SB Energy asset manager James Hawkins said.

Putting the animals to work on solar fields also helps the sheep and wool market, which has struggled in recent years. The inventory of sheep and lamb in Texas fell to 6,55,000 in January 2024, a 4% drop from the previous year, according to the most recent figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.