Sheep Frolic In Massive New Solar Power Plant

---

Support CleanTechnica’s work through a Substack subscription or on Stripe.

---

Despite this year’s abrupt disconnect between federal energy policy and actual energy reality, the fact is that solar power plants can support a resilient, reliable electricity grid while also supporting US farmers and domestic food systems, too. If the White House doesn’t believe the science, perhaps they will believe the sheep…

Solar Power Keeps Rising In Texas

Politically speaking, Texas occupies an unusual position in the US energy transition. The statehouse is dominated by Republican officials who are determined to follow the White House lead on energy policy. However, the state’s deeply rooted freestyle economic policy keeps getting in the way.

In recent years some Republican lawmakers have tried to place new hurdles in the way of solar power plants and wind farms, but those efforts have largely failed. As a result, Texas still carries the title of #1 wind power among all 50 states. The state is also vying with California and Florida for the #1 spot in solar power.

In the latest development, the North America branch of the global energy firm Enel has just announced the official start of operations at its GulfStar solar power plant with energy storage. Located in Wharton County, Texas, the 556-megawatt (dc) facility is Enel’s largest power plant to date in the US, and the biggest of its facilities to make room for sheep grazing, too.

Energy Storage Actually Does Exist

As part of the argument against solar energy, multiple high-ranking officials in the Trump administration have asserted that energy storage systems do not exist — or, if they do exist, they cost too much money. Over here in the 21st century, though, solar developers routinely use energy storage systems to squeeze extra value from their projects.

The GulfStar project is a case in point. Combined with a 355-megawatt BESS (battery energy storage system), the new facility has a total capacity of 911 megawatts, capable of producing electricity after the sun goes down and providing an extra dose of support to the grid in case of need.

“As power grids across the country face challenges due to rising power demand and extreme weather, battery storage is a rapidly growing tool for reliability. Enel’s fleet of 14 battery energy systems can store and dispatch energy in real time in response to changing grid conditions,” Enel explains, referring to its combined US operations.

Solar Power Plants Are Making New Friends

Aside from economically delivering electricity at utility scale, solar power plants can be constructed faster than natural gas or any other power generating resource. The speed factor has provided domestic solar stakeholders with support from the all-important data center industry along with other high-volume electricity users that need the kilowatts sooner, not later.

The unique position of the Texas grid is another factor supporting solar growth in the state. Other states can share power generating assets through regional grid organizations that were formed in the 1990s, but almost all of Texas has been a grid unto itself all these years. The state’s grid operator, ERCOT, has spent decades scrambling for more in-state resources including energy storage as well as wind and solar.

Now here comes the solar grazing movement to enlist farmland owners and livestock operators in support of the solar industry.

Solar grazing is a form of agrivoltaics, in which solar power plants are designed with space for agriculture between and below the solar panels. The arrangement is most commonly applied to livestock operations and pollinator habitats, though raising food crops for humans is beginning to emerge as well (see more agrivoltaics background here).

Sheep become the most common livestock for solar grazing, due to their relatively small size, inability to climb on the solar panels, and grazing efficiency. They help save money on maintenance by keeping vegetation from overrunning the panels, and they contribute natural fertilizer to the soil, too.

Enel is among the solar developers to recognize the potential for sheep to help cut costs and build support among local businesses in the community. In August of 2024, the company contracted with the family business Texas Solar Sheep Co. to provide vegetation management services at its solar power plants.

6,000 Sheep Say Baaaa To The White House

Solar grazing and agrivoltaics are new trends that barely existed just five years ago. By 2024, however, the solar grazing movement was already poised for scale-up and Enel decided to push the envelope. Instead of a pilot project or two, the Texas Solar Sheep contract calls for 6,000 sheep to manage vegetation at solar power plants covering a total of more than 10,000 acres.

That single contract represents a significant leap up for the solar grazing movement in the US. Citing statistics from the American Solar Grazing Association, Enel estimates that solar grazing covered a total of 100,000 acres as of 2024.

“By embracing sheep grazing, Enel reinforces its commitment to ‘agrivoltaics, the practice of combining solar power generation with agricultural practices,” Enel emphasizes, noting that the partnership “strengthens the company’s presence in the Texas market.”

Next Steps For The Solar Grazing Movement

Considering the ultra-trifecta of disasters to hit the US agriculture industry this year — including tariffs, inflation, and labor shortages among others — it’s a pity that the White House has ripped the solar power rug out from under US farmers. Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins, for example, has refused to make federal loans available even for small scale solar arrays that help farmers reduce their electricity bills.

Meanwhile, the solar grazing movement forges ahead. It has rapidly matured into knowledge-sharing networks that support the growing partnership between solar developers and farmers.

The American Solar Grazing Association, for example, initiated a solar grazing workshop series and certification course for solar developers in May. By October, ASGA staged four workshops enrolling more than 100 solar industry representatives, and the organization is laying plans for additional workshops in 2026.

ASGA is particularly active in Texas, but the organization notes that solar power plants all over the country are providing farmers with new opportunities for growth. ASGA cites the example of Agrivoltaic Solutions, a family business that grew from 30 sheep in 2018 to a 500-sheep vegetation management operation covering a total of 1,500 acres of solar sites in the Northeast.

State policy makers are also stepping up to fill the gap left by federal inaction. New York State, for example, has just launched a $7 million agrivoltaic demonstration and research program that includes crops for human consumption as well as grazing lands for livestock.

Photo: The energy firm Enel has just commissioned its largest solar power plant in the US, where sheep will serve as vegetation managers and soil enhancers (cropped, courtesy of Enel).