Every day, the experts at Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities work to find innovative solutions to today’s energy needs. Often those solutions are cutting-edge, as evidenced by the utilities’ solar facilities that are generating power in Mercer and Shelby counties. But sometimes, the solutions are decidedly low-tech—and quite woolly as well.
That’s certainly the case with the flock of more than 200 Shetland and Katahdin sheep that have been keeping the grass under control at the LG&E and KU’s E.W. Brown Generating Station in Mercer County. The idea has proven so successful, that this past spring an additional flock of 50 sheep—49 ewes and one ram—were introduced to their Solar Share facility in Simpsonville. The facility is directly tied to LG&E and KU’s Solar Share program, in which residential, business, and industrial customers can participate and support solar energy for as little as 20 cents per day. And the addition of the sheep adds yet another sustainable feature at the site.
“Our flock at E.W. Brown has successfully integrated with our native landscape and as planned, are serving their purpose, which includes sustainably managing vegetation around the solar panels as well as the cost of upkeep,” says Aron Patrick, director of Research and Development at LG&E and KU and the PPL family of utilities. “We’ve been so pleased with how it’s gone that we decided to explore the same type of incorporation at our Solar Share facility.”
A model for managing solar sites
No question, LG&E and KU’s weed-eating sheep are a novelty in a commonwealth better known for horses, Wildcats and Cardinals. The sheep remain on site at the two solar facilities throughout the summer months. In the colder months, the sheep at E.W. Brown Generating Station solar field are cared for by farmers at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, who provide veterinary services and shearing, while the sheep at Solar Share are being cared for by a farm local to Shelby County. The return of the sheep to the Solar Share site each summer will be evaluated based on anticipated construction activity as more customers subscribe to the program and the site is built out to completion.
Sure, they’re soft and cute and they baa a lot. But they also serve a very real purpose, given how challenging and time-consuming it can be to mow grass around and under sensitive solar panels.
By using sheep instead of lawn mowers, “we’re being more environmentally friendly and holding down maintenance costs for our customers,” Patrick says. “What started as a research project is laying the foundation for sustainably integrating more solar generation into our portfolio, and we hope the unique way we’re managing it can be a model for solar sites all around the United States and all around the world.”
LG&E and KU’s solar farms convert sunlight into electricity that can be placed onto the grid and used in homes and businesses. The E.W Brown facility is Kentucky’s largest solar farm with 44,500 panels. Thanks to support from throughout the commonwealth, the Solar Share facility recently celebrated the completion of section five, and subscriptions to section six are currently at 30 percent and rising. Once completed, the solar facility will have a total of eight 500-kilowatt sections capable of producing a total of 4 megawatts.
“Solar is important for Kentucky,” Patrick says, “because it’s one of the ways we can produce electricity without the need for fossil fuels, and with zero carbon dioxide emissions.”
Solar without the up-front costs
Customers in LG&E and KU’s Solar Share program receive the benefits of solar energy without having to pay the added up-front and long-term expenses that come with installing and maintaining a private solar system. Residential and business customers who participate will earn credits on their monthly bills based on their subscription level.
“Our portfolio of sustainable tools and programs, like Solar Share, makes it possible for customers to support local and regional renewable energy on their own terms by personalizing their participation levels to match their interests,” says LG&E and KU President John Crockett. “Together with our customers, we’re empowering a cleaner, sustainable energy future for Kentucky.”
The difference is real—over the course of a week, the roughly 6,000 (and counting) solar panels at the LG&E and KU Solar Share facility produce power equivalent to that consumed by nearly 250,000 LED light bulbs. And meanwhile, the sheep remain on patrol, keeping the vegetation under control and further enhancing the facility’s environmentally friendly mission.
For those interested in subscribing to the utilities’ Solar Share program or viewing a live dashboard showing how much energy the site is generating, visit LGE-KU.com/Solar-Share. For more information on the sheep managing the vegetation at the solar farms, visit LG&E and KU’s “Ewe Tube” channel at LGE-KU.com/Sheep.
