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Putting solar panels in grazing fields is good for sheep
Sheep living in pasture with solar panels benefit from shade in hot weather and more nutritious grass – and they stop weeds from growing on the panels
LIFE 1 February 2023
By Christa Lesté-Lasserre
![Sky Vertebrate Mammal Shade Landscape]()
Sheep lie under solar panels at Gold Tree Solar Farm in California
Emma Kampherbeek
Sheep living among rows of solar panels spend more time grazing, benefit from more nutritious food, rest more and appear to experience less heat stress, compared with nearby sheep in empty fields.
Earlier research suggested that agrivoltaic farms – which combine grazing animals with solar panels – offer more efficient renewable energy at lower overhead costs, as well as reducing wildfire risks. The latest findings show that the practice is also good for animal welfare, providing further evidence for a win-win situation, says Emma Kampherbeek, who carried out the work while at Wageningen University in the Netherlands.
She and her colleagues placed data loggers on the necks of 80 ewes, most of which were pregnant, living on 7.5 hectares of pasture on the central coast of California. The pasture, owned by California Polytechnic State University, hosts 4.5 megawatts of solar photovoltaic power produced from panels that automatically face the sun.
The researchers placed half the ewes in areas with a 60 per cent coverage of solar panels, and the other half in areas without any panels, in late autumn and winter, when temperatures averaged 17.5°C (63.5°F). They also sampled grasses from each grazing area to assess the amount and quality of vegetation the sheep consumed.
They found that the sheep on pasture with solar panels spent more than 70 per cent of their time under the panels and grazed 8 per cent more than those on land without solar panels. The sheep also spent 71 per cent more time lying down compared with those in open pasture, and 16 per cent less time just standing around idle – a behaviour that hints at poor welfare.
“They really liked being under the solar panels,” says Kampherbeek, adding that she herself preferred being in the shade under the panels. Heat stress is a common problem for sheep, which not only causes discomfort, but can lead to deadly heat stroke.
(more)
Sheep living in pasture with solar panels benefit from shade in hot weather and more nutritious grass – and they stop weeds from growing on the panels
LIFE 1 February 2023
By Christa Lesté-Lasserre
Sheep lie under solar panels at Gold Tree Solar Farm in California
Emma Kampherbeek
Sheep living among rows of solar panels spend more time grazing, benefit from more nutritious food, rest more and appear to experience less heat stress, compared with nearby sheep in empty fields.
Earlier research suggested that agrivoltaic farms – which combine grazing animals with solar panels – offer more efficient renewable energy at lower overhead costs, as well as reducing wildfire risks. The latest findings show that the practice is also good for animal welfare, providing further evidence for a win-win situation, says Emma Kampherbeek, who carried out the work while at Wageningen University in the Netherlands.
She and her colleagues placed data loggers on the necks of 80 ewes, most of which were pregnant, living on 7.5 hectares of pasture on the central coast of California. The pasture, owned by California Polytechnic State University, hosts 4.5 megawatts of solar photovoltaic power produced from panels that automatically face the sun.
The researchers placed half the ewes in areas with a 60 per cent coverage of solar panels, and the other half in areas without any panels, in late autumn and winter, when temperatures averaged 17.5°C (63.5°F). They also sampled grasses from each grazing area to assess the amount and quality of vegetation the sheep consumed.
They found that the sheep on pasture with solar panels spent more than 70 per cent of their time under the panels and grazed 8 per cent more than those on land without solar panels. The sheep also spent 71 per cent more time lying down compared with those in open pasture, and 16 per cent less time just standing around idle – a behaviour that hints at poor welfare.
“They really liked being under the solar panels,” says Kampherbeek, adding that she herself preferred being in the shade under the panels. Heat stress is a common problem for sheep, which not only causes discomfort, but can lead to deadly heat stroke.
(more)
