Solar Grazing

Some solar farms have recently been constructed on grazing land. The combination is sometimes termed “agrisolar”, where solar production and grazing co-exist on the same land.

Large-scale solar requires flat, cleared land with plenty of sun and connection to existing electricity networks. This means that rural grazing land is some of the best suited land for solar farms as well. 

ABC’s Landline recently aired a segment on the surprising benefits of agrisolar for graziers. One of the program’s interviewees was Tony Inder from Wellington, NSW. 

On Inder’s land, Lightsource BP operates 600MW of solar panels. That’s roughly equivalent to one-third of a large coal power plant.

“So we’ve done a few trials of sheep running under the panels compared to sheep running outside the panels,” Inder explained. “The sheep under the panels always cut more [wool] than the sheep outside the panels.”

“The panel sheep always seem to be happier sheep,” said Inder. “In actual fact we’re running more sheep now than we have ever run in our lives.”

This surprising turn has been attributed to the increased shade and moisture condensation onto the panels leading to greener grass underneath the panels. The sheep also enjoy more shelter in case of storms and reduced wind chill, meaning that more young lambs survive cold conditions.

Tony Warren from Dubbo has cut a similar deal with a solar operator. “Even in summer, it actually has a row of green grass growing all the time,” said Warren of his rows of solar panels. “The stocking rates and the quality and revenue from the wool being greater than it was for the associated land beside the [solar] farm did surprise me.”

Researchers suspect that Australia may be particularly well-suited to these hybrid “agrisolar” projects, because the sun is often excessive relative to the needs of the food we want to grow. In Victoria, a research team funded by the state government’s Agriculture Energy Investment Plan is incorporating solar panels into a pear orchard. They suspect the panels may improve fruit quality by protecting trees from storms, hail and intense midday sun.

It all adds up to more indication that Australia is positioned to become a future renewable energy superpower.

Feature image and article image courtesy of Clean Energy Council.