The solar grazing project operates at Volkswagen Poznań's manufacturing plant in Poland, where a flock of 100 sheep maintains vegetation beneath more than 31,000 photovoltaic panels. The Berlin-based energy company Quanta Energy built and operates the 18.3-megawatt installation, which supplies about one-quarter of the factory's annual electricity demand and can power the facility during periods of strong sunlight. The grazing approach replaces mechanical mowing, allowing the animals to control grass growth without interfering with the solar infrastructure while reducing fuel use, equipment operation, and maintenance activity.
Researchers from the Poznań University of Life Sciences are studying how agricultural activity can coexist with renewable energy production at the site. The study measures soil quality, vegetation, insect populations, local microclimate conditions, and the effect of panel shade on animal heat exposure. The sheep naturally spread into smaller grazing groups and can reach areas that mowing equipment struggles to access.
Image Credit: Volkswagon Group Poland
What Makes This Trend Stand Out
- Agrivoltaic Land Sharing
- Combining livestock, crops, and solar infrastructure creates new value from industrial land by turning energy sites into multifunctional agricultural ecosystems.
- Low-emission Site Maintenance
- Animal-based vegetation control reduces reliance on fuel-powered equipment, opening pathways for quieter, lower-carbon operations across large renewable assets.
- Biodiversity-measured Energy Projects
- Research-backed monitoring of soil, insects, vegetation, and microclimates positions solar installations as platforms for ecological performance data and habitat improvement.
Sectors Adopting This
- Renewable Energy
- Solar operators gain differentiated asset-management models where land stewardship, maintenance savings, and clean power generation are integrated into one service proposition.
- Automotive Manufacturing
- Factory energy systems that pair on-site renewables with sustainable groundskeeping reflect emerging opportunities for decarbonized industrial operations.
- Agriculture Technology
- Precision monitoring of grazing behavior, animal welfare, and ecosystem health can expand digital agriculture tools into renewable energy environments.
