dixon.rose•1d agoMost Upvoted

Stopped by a solar farm in rural Kansas and nobody was watching the sheep

I was driving through western Kansas last month and saw this big solar installation off the highway. Pulled over to stretch my legs and noticed about 30 sheep grazing right under the panels. There was one guy in a pickup truck just sitting there watching them. No security gates, no fences around the panels, just this herd of sheep wandering around like they owned the place. Turns out the company uses them for vegetation control instead of mowing. The guy said they save about $15,000 a year on weed whacking alone. Has anyone else seen this sort of thing at other solar farms?

2 comments

2 Comments

brown.susan1d ago

Wait, Illinois farmers actually rotate crops under solar panels instead of just letting sheep wander around?

sam_harris681d ago

The sheep save money on mowing but you're missing the real cost. Those panels lose efficiency when they get covered in dust and bird droppings, and sheep kick up plenty of both. Plus they can rub against the wiring and cause damage that costs way more than $15k in weed whacking. I've seen corn fields planted right up to the panels in Illinois and the farmers rotate crops under them just fine, no grazing animals needed. Solar companies aren't doing this to be green or save money, they're doing it because they get tax breaks for "dual use" land. It's a subsidy game, not a smart management choice.