Raising Sheep at a Solar Power Plant (Part 3) [Collaboration Between Solar Farms and Sheep Ranches]

At the Furukawa Solar Power Plant, built on the site of a former golf course in Miyagi Prefecture, we avoid the use of herbicides and pesticides out of consideration for the natural environment of the downstream area, and instead perform weeding by hand. Mowing the grass under the solar panels is extremely hard work. Therefore, Pacifico Energy is attempting to use sheep grazing for weed control. Let's take a look at how things are going today.

Two months have passed since we released the sheep into the grazing area within the power plant in September.
How is the weeding progress and how are the sheep doing?

One sheep is so enthusiastic about its work that its neck has poked right through the fence.

This one is also working hard to eat the grass on the other side of the fence.

It seems that sheep occasionally stick their heads through the mesh to eat the grass outside or bump into the fence, so in the newly expanded grazing area, we used a smaller mesh and installed the fence inside the mounting support pillars.

Perhaps because the temperature has dropped and they have become more active, their movement speed seems to have increased. Since expanding the area, it has become difficult to even find the sheep.

This is the area under the panels before the sheep have eaten.

This is what it looks like after they have eaten.

After the sheep have moved on, the weeding is finished cleanly. Some of the tougher grass stems remain, though.

They are climbing the slopes without any issues. They even seem to jump over the ditches. They are very capable.

The slopes have also been weeded cleanly. Since they do not dig up the roots, there seems to be no concern about soil erosion.

The area to the right of the fence where the sheep were released has been weeded cleanly.

Furukawa Solar Power Plant, a green carpet spread out without the use of herbicides.

The Furukawa Solar Power Plant in Osaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, is the largest solar power plant in the prefecture, with a power generation capacity of 56.7 MW. The Furukawa Solar Power Plant was created by modifying a golf course that once sat quietly in the mountains, far from the residential areas of Osaki City. We have utilized the flat terrain of the golf course to arrange the solar panels. Furthermore, by avoiding the use of herbicides and pesticides and relying on mowing machines or manual weeding, a grassland environment ranging from low-stem to high-stem grass is maintained throughout the year.

We have been operating for six years now, but as the greenery has progressed, mowing has become more difficult. As a new method of weed control, Pacifico Energy has collaborated with a sheep ranch that raises livestock to bring in 25 sheep.

The sheep are scheduled to stay at the power plant until November to carry out their weeding duties. We plan to monitor them weekly to see what kind of grass they eat and what kind they leave behind.

Pacifico Energy builds and operates many large-scale solar power plants across the country, and we hope to operate sheep ranches at as many locations as possible, contributing to eco-friendly power plant operations and the improvement of food and energy self-sufficiency.