Dominion Energy merges solar power and agriculture to create a brighter future

Dominion Energy’s innovative solar grazing program is proving to be a win-win for both solar power generation and local farmers. In Virginia’s Southside region, two major solar facilities, Piney Creek Solar and Maplewood Solar, are leading the way in integrating solar energy production with sustainable agricultural practices, showcasing the potential of future collaboration.

The Piney Creek facility, which opened in August 2023, spans 780 acres and can generate 80 megawatts of energy, enough to power 20,000 homes at peak efficiency. Dominion's Maplewood Solar facility, located in Climax, is even larger. This facility, which opened in December 2022, boasts an impressive 1,500 acres, with 1,000 acres of grazable land. It is capable of producing 120 megawatts of power at peak efficiency: enough to power up to 30,000 homes.

At both sites, a unique approach to land management has been implemented: solar grazing. This practice involves raising sheep under solar panels to graze on the vegetation that would otherwise grow around the equipment, thus ensuring optimal performance and efficiency. The sheep are helping to clear undergrowth, which reduces the need for mechanical landscaping and minimizes vegetation encroachment on the panels.

Marcus Gray, who founded Kitchen Sink Farm in Chatham with his wife, Jess, is one of the key participants in the program. Since 2022, his flock of sheep has been grazing at the Maplewood site. The flock is governed by Gray’s border collie sheepdog, Tripp, who comes and goes with the shepherd to help corral the sheep and move them around the site when needed for grazing rotation. The flock is guarded by Brody, an Anatolian shepherd breed who lives on site with the sheep to protect them from predators.

Dominion’s solar grazing program is a prime example of agrivoltaics, a practice in which land is used for both agricultural purposes and for solar power generation. The practice of agrivoltaics allows for the land to be useful to the larger farming community while also leveraging it for solar power.

“Sheep are the path of least resistance when it comes to agrivoltaics. They’re more docile than goats, and are less likely to bother electric wiring. Plus, they’re small, so they can fit under solar panels and even sleep under the panels,” said Gray.

In addition to maintaining vegetation, the sheep's waste is enhancing soil quality at the solar sites by returning essential nutrients like carbon and phosphorus. This is especially beneficial in the long term, as the average lifespan of a solar farm is about 30 years. When the panels are eventually removed, the land will be well-prepared for agricultural use once again, thanks to the sheep’s natural fertilization.

Dominion’s program, which aims to have 1,000 sheep across its solar facilities by spring 2025, is also supporting local economies. By offering land for grazing, Dominion is helping farmers like Gray grow their operations without having to invest in expensive land or deal with property taxes.

“It’s an immense opportunity to be able to grow our operation and have access to land that we don’t have to buy or pay taxes on, and the compensation for managing it has given us free cash flow to expand our operations. We’ve grown from 25 sheep to the 1100 that we have now thanks to this program. It has offered us the opportunity to grow and scale sheep farming beyond just a hobby to a full scale operation, and I really think it could go a long way towards helping to recover the sheep industry,” Gray said.

The U.S. sheep industry has been in decline since the 1940s, with only about 5 million sheep remaining in the country today compared to the over 50 million sheep that lived and grazed in the U.S. in World War II. Gray believes that partnerships like the one with Dominion could be the key to revitalizing it. With approximately 18,000 acres of solar farming already approved in Pittsylvania County, the possibilities seem almost boundless.

In addition to solar grazing, Dominion is exploring other agrivoltaic initiatives, such as increasing pollinator populations with beehives on its solar farms. In another innovative pilot program designed to increase the pollinator population while retaining the agricultural use of land being used for solar power generation, Dominion has contracted with a local beekeeper to place four beehives on another of their solar farms. They hope to double the number of beehives on the site by spring, and the future capacity of the site has been identified at around 24 beehives. These efforts underscore the company’s commitment to both clean energy and sustainable farming practices, ensuring that the benefits of solar power extend far beyond just energy generation.

As Dominion Energy continues to grow its solar grazing program, it sets a powerful example of how renewable energy and agriculture can work together for a more sustainable future—benefiting farmers, the environment, and the community alike.