Cows at Tennessee's 'Silicon Ranch' graze under solar panels

A Tennessee ranch is proving that cattle and renewable energy can coexist, reports Tammy Weber and Joshua Bickel for the Associated Press. The farm in Christiana, near Nashville, just debuted a solar project that lets cows graze on the grass beneath the panels, giving the land a double use. 

But raising cows near solar panels comes with a unique set of problems when trying to protect both the massive animals and the solar infrastructure. Because solar panels typically have to tilt almost vertically to catch the sun at certain times of the day, this can often get in the way of cattle grazing beneath them. To solve this, Silicon Ranch raised the panels and developed software that lets workers adjust the panels to make room for cows. The workers then rotate cow herds to leave some panels to operate normally, generating roughly 5 megawatts of power for Middle Tennessee Electric.

The farm could become a model for agrivoltaic projects, which some farmers are skeptical of due to past practices that destroyed topsoil and took land out of production. Now, Silicon Ranch is finding that pasture under solar panels is more drought-resistant, while the shade makes animals less prone to heat stress. Farmers can earn about $1,000 an acre by leasing land for solar production, a significant bonus at a time when many U.S. farms are struggling to stay financially viable.