AgriSolar clearinghouse
Today, the Eastern Cottontail Solar Project announced it will implement sheep grass to assist with vegetation management at the project site, keeping the land in agricultural use. The commitment to implement sheep grazing was submitted in addition to Eastern Cottontail Solar’s permit application with the Ohio Power Siting Board. The project will seek to work with local herders to supply and manage the herd.
“Our commitment to sheep grazing is an important initiative for Eastern Cottontail Solar as it aims to be the first U.S. project for developer EDF Renewables to implement agrivoltaics, which is the dual use of land for both clean energy generation as agricultural activities,” said Nick Lucania, lead developer of the Eastern Cottontail Solar Project. “Dual solar land use will support local agriculture and help preserve Fairfield County’s agricultural heritage, while increasing the land used for our project.”
“Over the past four years, an essential feature of our project has been substantial engagement with the local community, as a means of listening to concerns and incorporating feedback, which has built trust and a strong partnership,” Lucania continued. “The most common concern we’ve heard is that while solar energy uses private land, it can displace active agricultural land. In response, we proposed incorporating sheep grazing into the community, enabling a solution to make land productive for both energy generation and agriculture. It is a win-win for everyone in Fairfield County and meaningful for the entire community.”
Eastern Cottontail Solar, developed by EDF Renewables, is a proposed utility-scale solar facility with a capacity of up to 220 MW that will generate approximately enough electricity to power the equivalent of 42,000 average U.S. homes.
News item from EDF Renewables