ASGA recently announced the publication of their paper, Sheep Grazing Impacts on Soil Health and Pasture Quality at Commercial Solar Sites in Northeastern USA. This paper was created for the World AgriVoltaics 2024 Conference and highlighted preliminary results of a 3-year study funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

The study incorporated field data from soil and forage samples collected at 28 grazed and 3 non-grazed commercial solar sites to determine how grazing influences solar site health, associated ecosystem health, forage nutritive quality, and pasture conditions at Northeastern solar sites.

Access the publication at: https://www.tib-op.org/ojs/index.php/agripv/article/view/1402

Since its publication in March, the NYSERDA study’s preliminary results have gained attention from multiple outlets:

PV Magazine

Our study was featured in pv magazine, titled Solar grazing supports healthier soil, food for sheep, study finds, in May 2025. This feature by Rachel Metea reported how our results demonstrate that solar grazing creates a beneficial dual-use environment. Metea included quotes from American Farmland Trusts’s New England deputy director, Alissa White, PhD, who assisted on this project.

Read the pv magazine article here: https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2025/05/02/solar-grazing-supports-healthier-soil-food-for-sheep-study-finds/

Lightsource bp Blog Post:

In this post titled, Story: Solar and sheep create mutual benefits, Lightsource bp highlights the key takeaways of our study: healthier soil from solar grazing and a better environment for sheep from healthier food. Lightsource bp’s Nittany 1 solar project was one of the 31 sites in our study, and background on the site is highlighted in this blog post.

Access Lightsource bp’s blog post here: https://lightsourcebp.com/us/news/solar-grazing-research-pennsylvania/

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The full results of ASGA’s NYSERDA study are forthcoming and intended to be presented in an open-access, peer-reviewed journal. Highlights will also be presented via a series of factsheets. We appreciate the support we’ve received on the preliminary results and look forward to sharing more in the coming months!

Congratulations to those involved in this project:

• Alyssa Andrew (ASGA)
• Lexie Hain (ASGA)
• Jonathan Barter (ASGA)
• Zach Goldberg (Pennsylvania State University)
• Allison Desario (ASGA)
• Keven Antoszewski (American Farmland Trust)
• Alissa White (American Farmland Trust)
• Caro Roszell (American Farmland Trust)
• Emily Cole (American Farmland Trust)
• Stacie Peterson (ASGA)
• Bethany Meys (NYSERDA)