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Landscape to Lambscape: How Sheep are Reshaping Solar Farm Maintenance
Landscape to Lambscape: How Sheep are Reshaping Solar Farm Maintenance
Natalie Johnson
Posted on 8/30/2023
Marie Monteleone / Outrider Foundation
When you think about solar farm maintenance, sheep may be the last workers you think of hiring. But, they come with a host of benefits. Solar installations require extensive maintenance efforts to control vegetation and sheep grazing provides a new cost-effective solution. This innovative practice allows solar farms to maintain ground cover, control vegetation, reduce fire risk, and lower O&M expenditures.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates solar panels will cover approximately 3 million acres of land in the US by 2030 and 6 million acres by 2050. As solar energy developers expand their operations many want to develop farmland, competing with farmers who also want to use the land to bring in revenue.
Agrivoltaics – the dual use of land for agriculture and photovoltaic panels – is becoming increasingly popular in North America. Sheep have proven to be the best grazing animals for the job. Cattle are too large to fit under typical solar systems and can damage equipment due to their size, curiosity, and desire to scratch their bodies on equipment. While solar arrays can be constructed on pedestals to allow cattle to graze underneath the system, designing an entire solar installation around cattle is not practical. Goats have been considered as another option as they can graze under all parts of solar installations, however, they are also curious animals that tend to climb and munch on equipment, damaging the solar panels causing more harm than good.
Sheep, on the other hand, have proven to successfully maintain vegetation without damaging equipment. Sheep can easily navigate under solar panels to graze on all parts of the land area and they are complete grazers, meaning they will consume any type of vegetation that grows near panels.
Maintaining vegetation at solar energy sites poses a significant expense for energy companies and sheep have proven to be a cost-effective solution when compared to the traditional approach of manual labor, machinery, and herbicides. According to the American Solar Grazing Association, the cost of grazing livestock is 30% less than man-powered landscape maintenance, some companies have even saved more. Prices range from $250-750 per acre, per year, depending on the region, topography, and herd availability. For solar sites located on rough terrain, sheep can prove extremely useful. In Massachusetts, solar developer Nexamp achieved 38% cost savings on a ledge site which would have been very difficult to hand-maintain. The company averages a cost savings of 19% across all sites that have switched to grazing.
Marie Monteleone / Outrider Foundation
Another company, Tampa Electric, has achieved an astonishing 75% cost savings. The company took the liberty of adding quality fences, predator barriers, wells to provide water for the herd, and specific seed mixes to their solar sites at a large upfront cost. However, these additions helped the livestock contractor save money, in turn allowing the energy company to hire the contractor at a lower rate and achieve significant savings.
Several other companies have reported that in addition to the financial benefits they are also seeing a decreased fire risk, a decrease in damage to panels caused by machinery and projectiles, and a reduced carbon footprint. Solar farm maintenance and operation oversight has also improved as farmers frequently check on their herds and can report panel damage and other issues to solar companies. There are a whole host of benefits to livestock grazing and as the solar industry continues to expand agrivoltaics just might catch on.Â
The Eco Edison is a service operation vessel being constructed in Louisiana. It will be the first wind farm SOV to be compliant with the Jones Act and upon completion in 2024, will allow wind farm technicians to maintain and repair three wind farms in the Northeast that are expected to power over a million homes.
The Eco Edison is a service operation vessel being constructed in Louisiana. It will be the first wind farm SOV to be compliant with the Jones Act and upon completion in 2024, will allow wind farm technicians to maintain and repair three wind farms in the Northeast that are expected to power over a million homes.
This year we are seeing big changes in industrial manufacturing due to new advances in technology and automation, and we are all trying to keep up. Many companies are investing in large-scale facility upgrades to incorporate these new technologies and keep up with demand. From their experiences, we are learning about benefits, challenges, and effects on processes that facility upgrades can bring. A focus on designing for reliability will be essential in planning these upgrades.Â
This year we are seeing big changes in industrial manufacturing due to new advances in technology and automation, and we are all trying to keep up. Many companies are investing in large-scale facility upgrades to incorporate these new technologies and keep up with demand. From their experiences, we are learning about benefits, challenges, and effects on processes that facility upgrades can bring. A focus on designing for reliability will be essential in planning these upgrades.Â
This week's newsletter contains a list of 5 resources for reliability and maintenance case studies to help you on the path to success (plus two bonus case studies at the end!). Digging into mistakes that can be made and analyzing how they were fixed is beneficial to any maintenance professional looking to become an expert in their field.
This week's newsletter contains a list of 5 resources for reliability and maintenance case studies to help you on the path to success (plus two bonus case studies at the end!). Digging into mistakes that can be made and analyzing how they were fixed is beneficial to any maintenance professional looking to become an expert in their field.
President Biden kicked off his three week ‘Investing in America’ tour on March 28th in Durham, North Carolina. Over the next three weeks Biden and members of his administration will visit multiple chip manufacturing sites in over 20 states. This comes after the president signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law this past August.Â
President Biden kicked off his three week ‘Investing in America’ tour on March 28th in Durham, North Carolina. Over the next three weeks Biden and members of his administration will visit multiple chip manufacturing sites in over 20 states. This comes after the president signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law this past August.Â
The Pentagon has officially decided to send M1A1 refurbished tanks to Ukrainian forces to aid in the fight against Russia. Initially there was some debate about whether they should send tanks, which models, and how quickly the tanks could be produced as Poland, Taiwan, and Australia have already placed orders at the Ohio Plant.
The Pentagon has officially decided to send M1A1 refurbished tanks to Ukrainian forces to aid in the fight against Russia. Initially there was some debate about whether they should send tanks, which models, and how quickly the tanks could be produced as Poland, Taiwan, and Australia have already placed orders at the Ohio Plant.
While ammonia offers reliable and cost-effective solutions for industrial refrigeration, its toxicity poses significant risks to personnel and communities if not handled properly. o address these challenges, the integration of predictive maintenance and a CMMS emerges as a crucial strategy.
While ammonia offers reliable and cost-effective solutions for industrial refrigeration, its toxicity poses significant risks to personnel and communities if not handled properly. o address these challenges, the integration of predictive maintenance and a CMMS emerges as a crucial strategy.
Recent incidents such as lead found in Hershey’s chocolate products and WanaBana applesauce pouches are shining the light on lead contamination in the food and beverage industry. What are the risks that lead exposure (and other heavy metals) pose to people who consume the products – and to those in the manufacturing facilities who make the products? What can be done at a facility level to promote safety for maintenance crews?
Recent incidents such as lead found in Hershey’s chocolate products and WanaBana applesauce pouches are shining the light on lead contamination in the food and beverage industry. What are the risks that lead exposure (and other heavy metals) pose to people who consume the products – and to those in the manufacturing facilities who make the products? What can be done at a facility level to promote safety for maintenance crews?
