How Sheep Help Solar Power

Two years ago, we looked at solar sheep grazing.

Now there is more.

Solar Power

During 2023, solar soared. According to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, solar provided 49.3% of our new generating capacity. Adding 18,356 MW to U.S. capacity, solar was even ahead of the combined total of natural gas and wind.

However, we are still just looking at a sliver (at 3.9% in 2023) of electricity production:

But because it is growing, here, sheep enter the story.

It turns out that sheep are ideal for solar panel farms. Small, starved, and mild-mannered, the sheep have the right stature, appetite, and temperament. Rather like grazing lawn mowers, they minimize the surrounding foliage so nothing blocks the panels. They also diminish the fire risk. By contrast cows and horses are too big and the cows rub themselves against the posts. Goats too are not ideal because they nibble on wires and climb on structures.

With vegetation management a top cost, solar farm owners say sheep are the least expensive solution. One industry group estimates that 500 U.S. solar power sites have 80,000 sheep. As for the environment, while sheep emit methane when they burp, they do replace fossil fuel fed lawn mowers.

But it helps to be skeptical. We should also note that some sheep did not like the weeds they were supposed to devour. And also, their hair gets tangled in the equipment.

Our Bottom Line: A Demand Determinant

Sometimes the position of a demand curve can depend on a second commodity. When that happens, economists say we have a determinant of demand that is a complement. So, I wonder if we can say that more solar panel production will lead to more sheep? It certainly is creating more sheepherders. And now that we are eating less lamb (1.3 pounds a person in 2022 v. 4 pounds in 1960), it certainly could sustain an industry.

Then we would see both curves shift to the right.  Receiving as much as $300-$500 an acre, sheep farmer demand is up:

There is a name for this combination of agriculture and solar power. It is called Agrivoltaics.

My sources and more: Thanks to the Financial Times for reminding me it was time to update our 2022 solar grazing post. From there, Solar Power World and Bloomberg had more detail.

Please note that today we’ve copied several sentences from a past econlife post.