In today's volatile economy, job stability can often be found in unexpected places - like returning to the traditional role of shepherding. Solar shepherds, who manage sheep grazing under solar panels, are part of a growing movement that combines agriculture and renewable energy - and offers high incomes in the process.
Author
- Joshua M. Pearce
John M. Thompson Chair in Information Technology and Innovation and Professor, Western University
My recent study , conducted with Ivey Business School alum Adam Gasch and professional shepherd Rafael Lara from The Lara Costa , found that modern solar shepherding businesses in places like Ontario can pull incomes equivalent to doctors, senior engineers or even lawyers.
These solar shepherds are the vanguard of a new type of farming called agrivoltaics - a portmanteau for agriculture and photovoltaics - where agricultural production is intertwined with solar electricity production. Agrivoltaics is gaining traction in Canada, thanks to organizations like Agrivoltaics Canada , of which I am a founding member.
Agrivoltaics has enormous potential to solve our climate and energy problems simultaneously. About one-quarter to one-third of Canada's total electrical energy needs could be met by converting just one per cent of agricultural land to agrivoltaics . Expanding this to a slightly larger percentage could eliminate Canada's need for fossil fuels entirely.
Agrivoltaics uses land far more efficiently than simple farming - it not only produces clean energy but also enhances agricultural output, yielding more food than traditional farming methods.
Business models for solar shepherds
Our study evaluated the profitability of agrivoltaic sheep grazing and lamb husbandry business models in Ontario using case studies at two scales: small solar projects (200 kilowatts) and large solar projects (465 megawatts).
We also looked at two types of solar shepherding business models : breeding ewes for lambs on the farm and purchasing lamb from auction every year. For each model, revenue streams, costs and investments were investigated using sensitivity analyses.
All the results showed a massive profit. Despite differences in operational approaches, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization margins were higher than typical agriculture industry values due to the increased and reliable revenue source of grazing services.
Return on investments for the breeding model ranged from 16 to 31 per cent, while the auction model ranged from 22 to 43 per cent for identical scenarios.
Given these results, all existing solar farms should have sheep working on them to cut the grass. This approach would increase local sheep production while lowering consumer costs.
Everyone benefits
Sheep-based agrivoltaics is a particularly good symbiotic system where every participant benefits, from the animals and farmers to the local community and environment.
The solar panels shade the sheep and make them more comfortable on hot days, while fences around the solar farms protect them from predators. The grass shaded by solar panels also grows faster than unshaded grass , so there is more food for the sheep and, in turn humans, than naked pastures with no solar shade.
The benefits extend to energy production as well. The grid enjoys more solar power, which is the least expensive electricity in history , because the grazing sheep keep the solar panels clear of weeds.
In addition, solar farm owners and investors save money on vegetation management by avoiding the risks of mowing (which can damage panels with flying debris) and the costs and environmental harms of herbicides.
Solar shepherds make more money than traditional shepherds do for three main reasons. According to Glassdoor, shepherds in Canada normally make $58,000/year , while solar shepherds can expect to make two to three times as much.
Solar shepherds benefit from increased grass for their sheep, they don't have to lease pastures and, most importantly, they earn bonus pay for solar farm vegetation management, which comes from contracts with the solar farm owners.
The advantages of solar shepherding ripples out to local communities as well. Solar farms generate significant tax revenue, often enough to fully fund local schools in small farming communities. Residents also gain access to locally produced lamb and sheep meat, along with high-paying local employment.
There are also benefits from an environmental perspective. An earlier study I did with sustainability engineering professor Robert Handler showed that agrivoltaics sheep pastures were twice as land-use efficient than maintaining separate systems for solar energy and sheep grazing. They also outperformed conventional sheep farming and grid electricity systems by 280 to 894 per cent.
Complications to consider
While solar sheep grazing might seem like an easy win, there can be challenges, and shepherding is no easy task. The sheep need to regularly move to effectively control vegetation on the solar farm, which requires moving both the fences and the sheep themselves.
Profits from solar sheep grazing also can disappear if sheep are attacked by predators, which include wolves, coyotes, domestic dogs, bobcats, lions, bears and even eagles. To provide some protection, sheep are naturally equipped with rectangular pupils that allow them to see almost everything around them while they are grazing. Despite the rectangular eyes, practically this means sheep require better fencing than cattle or bison. The larger threat to sheep is disease and parasites that can kill the sheep.
In addition, some solar industry representatives shared concerns about potential complexities for setting up large projects. Sheep need water to drink, for example, and forward-thinking developers have started installing water sources for sheep on the solar farms. Others have changed their grass seed mix to provide more nutrition.
Most sheep farms, however, have sub-optimal grass and don't have water on-site. Water can be trucked in, but this both detracts from the elegance and economics of the system. Overall, the logistics of bringing in what can be hundreds of sheep is more complicated than hiring conventional mowing.
In some regions, solar sheep farms include the added value of wool production, but some markets are too small to reach a profitable enough scale, and the value of the wool is lost.
In addition, although the carbon emissions per kilogram of mutton is much better than beef , plant-based food is still far more efficient. Even though solar sheep are green, plant-based agrivoltaics is a far more efficient use of land.
Expanding agrivolatics
Agrivoltaics isn't limited to sheep - it works for other animals and livestock, too. I previously studied solar-pasture-fed rabbits in Texas. Not only did the system prove environmentally beneficial , but the solar panels also provided protection for the rabbits from predators like hawks and eagles.
In Canada, innovation in agrivoltaics is expanding compliments of Agrivoltaics Canada and its many members. Ranchers at Solar Sheep in Alberta are currently experimenting with pigs , while Sun Cycle Farms is experimenting with cows .
All of this is promising, but the potential goes even further. Agrivoltaics also works for many other crops than grass , such as broccoli, corn, lettuce, potatoes, spinach, tomatoes and even wheat, opening up a wide range of possibilities for agriculture and renewable energy. While Canada is only beginning to scratch the surface of agrivoltaics possibilities , early results suggest a promising future for it.
Joshua M. Pearce has received funding for research from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Mitacs, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), U.S. Department of Defense, The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and the National Science Foundation (NSF). In addition, his past and present consulting work and research is funded by the United Nations, the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, many non-profits and for-profit companies in the energy and solar photovoltaic fields. He is a founding member of Agrivoltaics Canada. He does not directly work for any solar manufacturer or agricultural firm and has no direct conflicts of interests.
