Mississippi State University is exploring a greener approach to maintaining its on-campus solar facility — swapping the lawnmowers for sheep.
In a research trial led by the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, a small flock of 10 sheep grazed the university’s 3,420-panel solar installation, which is the largest in the SEC. The study examined whether these natural lawnmowers can offer a more sustainable and efficient alternative to traditional landscaping methods, which can be very challenging around large and delicate solar panels.
Jim Bo Hearnsberger, the associate director of campus grounds for MSU Campus Services, said that the trial was successful and that the sheep would start grazing as early as spring.
Finding an effective method to manage the space beneath and between the solar panels proved to be a challenge. Standard mowing techniques would be risky, as they could result in rocks being thrown and damaging the solar arrays. Other ideas included laying down gravel, but inspiration struck when other SEC schools shared their experiences using goats for similar maintenance.
“Goats were the first thing that came to my head,” Hearnsberger said, “but, of course, goats have a tendency of being destructive. Chances are, if you put a goat in here, they would jump up and eat some of the wiring and cause a lot more damage than what we had benefit from it.”
The goat idea was proposed to South Farm faculty, who instead recommended using sheep as a more suitable alternative.
Hearnsberger said preparations are underway to set up infrastructure for the sheep’s permanent stay, including dividing the four-acre facility into quadrants to allow for rotational grazing.
“The plan right now is to provide two water troughs on opposite ends that will allow, once the farm is broken up into four quadrants, we can add a central watering source that the sheep can have it all throughout the grazing season,” Hearnsberger said.