HARRODSBURG, Ky.  – They’re ba-a-a-a-ack.

The four-legged lawnmowers are back in action in central Kentucky at the Mercer County/E.W. Brown Solar Facility, helping to manage vegetation that grows around the solar panels on this 300-acre lot.

What started as a flock of 25 in 2020 has now grown to more than 200 Shetland and Katadin sheep, with 15 lambs born this spring…and more on the way.

The flock, cared for by farm managers from Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, serve as organic lawnmowers. The sheep keep vegetation down as they graze around more than 44,000 solar panels. The panels are maintained by Louisville Gas & Electric (LG&E) and Kentucky Utilities (KU).

The solar farm has partnered with a local farmer to bring in the sheep. The use of sheep for land management has a number of benefits. First, it provides a sustainable and environmentally friendly way to maintain the land, as the sheep help to control weeds and invasive plant species while also promoting soil health. Second, it creates a secondary source of income for local farmers, who are paid to graze their sheep on the solar farm.

 Aron Patrick, director of Research and Development at LG&E and KU parent company PPL Corporation, calls the use of the sheep a “win-win” for everyone.

 “If we just allowed these fields to grow with any types of plants, you would have plants grow taller than the solar panels, and that would cast shade onto the panels,” Patrick said. “Tall grass would also increase the risk of fire. The project is a win-win for both renewable energy and agriculture. The project is helping to promote sustainable land use practices and support local farmers. Additionally, the solar panels provide shade for the sheep during the hot summer months, helping to protect them from heat stress and reducing the need for expensive cooling systems. By using sheep rather than lawnmowers, what we’re doing here is both more environmentally friendly and helps manage expenses by keeping maintenance costs down.”

 “The sheep wake up every morning and get right to work…there’s no 401-k involved,” said Mike Moore, Shaker Village farm manager. “It’s a very labor-intensive process for anyone to come out here and manage this site. Getting underneath these panels and weed eating is actually really time-consuming and labor intensive, but this particular sheep breed is quite short in stature and easily navigate the grass under the structures. The sheep, unlike goats, are much more docile and down-to-earth so you won’t see them hopping on the solar panels. I come out, check them twice a week, move them twice a week, but overall it’s pretty hands off.”

 The E.W. Solar Array is located several miles south of a large coal-fired power plant in rural Harrodsburg. The solar farm generates enough electricity a day to power 13,000 homes.

 “Solar is pretty intensive in terms of the amount of land area it requires,” Patrick said. “The panels are actually becoming more efficient every year. It’s a showpiece of 21st century ‘green tech,’ but the grounds are well-kept by some old world ingenuity.”

 The public can view the sheep in action via live stream on LG&E/KU’s three YouTube pages.

 “We have security cameras here at the facility as we do with all our facilities,” Moore said, “so we’ve decided to live-stream some of those security cameras to the web so everybody can watch.”

 The use of sheep for land management is not a new concept, but it is still relatively uncommon on solar farms. Solar grazing has been proven successful on solar panels in New York, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida and eastern Ohio.

 Lexie Hain, one of the founders of the American Solar Grazing Association (ASGA), formed the ASGA in 2018 to provide solar installations with much needed service provided by sheep. Hain farmed in New York since 2005, but sold her specialty plant nursery in 2015 and transitioned to solar grazing with sheep. By 2020, her business included five solar companies as clients.

 “Putting sheep to work at keeping the panels clear of overgrown vegetation is a perfect fit and a way to bring agriculture and solar together,” Hain said. “We’ve learned that the assistance with the solar industry could help agriculture, which sometimes is a sliding economy. Solar grazing is more effective than mowing or using herbicides.”