The Results of the ASGA Solar Grazing Census
United States Solar Grazing 2024 Census
Presented by the American Solar Grazing Association in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the results of the Solar Grazing Census identify the most comprehensive scale and reach of solar grazing to date. This information can be used to show the potential for the growth of solar grazing and answers commonly asked questions.
- How many acres of solar are being grazed?
- How many sheep are being used?
- What makes a site easy or difficult to graze?
- And much more!
Key Insights
-
The scale of solar grazing in the U.S. is much larger than
previously understood and undergoing rapid growth. As of
October 2024, approximately 113,050 sheep were grazing
129,000 acres across over 500 solar sites -
Sheep grazing was commonly utilized on both large, utility-scale solar sites and smaller community and distributed generation facilities, as well as fixed and tracking style solar arrays.
-
Over 40% of respondents reported grazing utility-scale solar sites.
-
There were clear regional variations, with the South region
exceeding the Midwest, Northeast, and West in both sheep numbers and acres engaged in solar grazing. However, the total number of solar sites were similar across all four regions, suggesting that sites were on average smaller in both total acreage and sheep numbers in the Midwest, Northeast, and West.
-
Site design, water access, and fencing were the top three factors that solar graziers reported as affecting the difficulty of grazing a solar array. The most influential factor in contract price was “site design, panel type, and wire management” as these factors can heavily influence labor needs.
-
The majority of active solar graziers were between 30 and 59 years of age and over a third reported as female
-
Approximately two-thirds of respondents reported being held responsible for managing vegetation via methods additional to sheep grazing, including mechanical mowing.
-
Over 50% of respondents were financially motivated, and environmental benefits were the next largest motivating factor to begin solar grazing.
-
The scale of solar grazing in the U.S. is much larger than
previously understood and undergoing rapid growth. As of
October 2024, approximately 113,050 sheep were grazing
129,000 acres across over 500 solar sites -
Sheep grazing was commonly utilized on both large, utility-scale solar sites and smaller community and distributed generation facilities, as well as fixed and tracking style solar arrays.
-
Over 40% of respondents reported grazing utility-scale solar sites.
-
There were clear regional variations, with the South region
exceeding the Midwest, Northeast, and West in both sheep numbers and acres engaged in solar grazing. However, the total number of solar sites were similar across all four regions, suggesting that sites were on average smaller in both total acreage and sheep numbers in the Midwest, Northeast, and West. -
Site design, water access, and fencing were the top three factors that solar graziers reported as affecting the difficulty of grazing a solar array. The most influential factor in contract price was “site design, panel type, and wire management” as these factors can heavily influence labor needs.
-
The majority of active solar graziers were between 30 and 59 years of age and over a third reported as female
-
Approximately two-thirds of respondents reported being held responsible for managing vegetation via methods additional to sheep grazing, including mechanical mowing.
-
Over 50% of respondents were financially motivated, and environmental benefits were the next largest motivating factor to begin solar grazing.
Watch: The Landscape of Solar Grazing Webinar Recording
At our March 2025 ASGA Call, Alyssa Andrew and Anna Clare Monlezun, PhD. provided an overview of the results from the forthcoming solar grazing census report. They were joined by Stacie Peterson (ASGA), Lynn Fahrmeier (ASI), and Shawn Rummery (SI2) to analyze the results.
The Census results showed insightful details about the landscape of solar grazing across the country, such as:
- Participant demographics
- The scale of solar grazing
- Solar grazing operations and practice
- Solar grazier perspectives
On the call, we learned that 129,261 acres of solar sites are reported as being grazed in the U.S. by 113,050 sheep on 506 sites across 30 states!
