Watts and Wool: A Pilot Solar Grazing Project with Three Creeks Farm at NH Solar Shares

Two weeks ago, at PAREI’s Plymouth Solar Shares site, 16 local sheep made Plymouth history. They became the first sheep in the area to participate in solar grazing, a new agrivoltaic initiative of PAREI.

To be fair, it wasn’t just the sheep that made it happen. Lucie Brown, PAREI’s newfound partner from Three Creeks Farm, brought her flock over from her New Hampton-based farm and shared her solar grazing expertise.

The partnership was “a very natural fit” said Denise Hutchins, PAREI’s Executive Director. It stemmed from a solar chat two weeks prior between Lucie and PAREI’s Founder, Sandra Jones. Sandra mentioned the unwanted vegetation and invasive poison ivy taking over the panels at the Plymouth Solar Shares array. She also discussed the need to clear land for an additional array as part of the newly approved Solar Shares expansion. The task would bring electricity bill credits to five more local families in need of support.

Lucie, already looking to explore a solar grazing service for her farm, proposed her idea to PAREI, and almost instantly, a partnership was formed. “We thought, immediately, this collaboration is a match. It’s going to support our local farms, which is what our Local Foods Plymouth Program is all about,” said Denise. At the same time, the sheep would help maintain PAREI’s Solar Shares site, which provides community solar to low-income families while increasing the amount of clean, renewable energy on the grid.

After receiving the go-ahead from The Common Man and the town of Plymouth, the team met Lucie for an initial consultation where they discussed the science behind solar grazing.

Agrivoltaics is an intersection of agriculture and solar energy, where land is used for both purposes. In other words, it is where agriculture and solar photovoltaic systems are mutually beneficial to each other. Lucie explained how her sheep would turn vegetation management into a low-energy, natural process while optimizing the functionality of the solar panels.

Then she detailed some of the key benefits of solar grazing. In addition to providing the sheep with shelter and new areas of nutrition, it:

Replaces gas-powered mowing and the noise that comes with it

Reduces the reliance on non-renewable resources

Boosts solar panel efficiency by leaving room for air to travel under the arrays

Reduces human exposure to poisonous plants (sheep can eat poison ivy!)

Enriches the soil naturally through the nutrients the sheep deposit into the soil

Protects the native plants and wildlife as a non-invasive strategy

Lowers our carbon footprint and contributes to the carbon cycle

The PAREI team loved how these benefits fell into the mission they abide by. They thought, what better way to encourage sustainable living than to practice it! Denise said, “It’s going to help our local farms and serve as a natural extension of the question, ‘What else can we be doing to serve the community?'” Everyone was enthusiastic about getting the project done, so much so that after the initial discussion, the team went on to plan the overnight stay with Lucie in under two weeks!

While Lucie prepared her Horned Dorsets, PAREI’s marketing team, volunteers, and staff worked together to ensure the event ran as smoothly as possible. The sheep stayed for the planned three days and absolutely loved being on the pasture again after a long winter without it.

On the last day of the flock’s visit, PAREI held an information session on solar grazing and its benefits for local Plymouth residents. Community members had the opportunity to learn about sustainable land clearing, see the real effects of agrivoltaics, and meet the sheep behind it all.

All in all, the project was a great success, fruitful in its environmental impact, community education, and creation of a continuing partnership between PAREI and Three Creeks Farm; one that will open doors to future solar grazing endeavors.

“PAREI is all about sustainability, and this is another option for people to live more sustainably.” -Denise Hutchins

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