What Is Solar Grazing Exactly? And What a Year Under the Panels Taught Us

Solar grazing sounds simple: put sheep under a solar array, they eat the grass, everyone wins. But what it actually is—and what makes it work—is more specific, more complicated, and more interesting.

For the past three years, we've grazed our herd under solar panels at the Kyndryl Solar Array in Boulder County. But last summer, we made a shift: from continuous grazing to holistic planned grazing—the kind of intentional, intensive management that regenerates land. It's a different philosophy, which meant different supplies, different timing, and yes, different challenges.

Vision and execution are different creatures, especially when herding hungry sheep through 55+ acres of solar panels.

This past year taught us some hard-won lessons—physical, practical, occasionally humbling. But it also gave us data showing what holistic management actually meant for the land.

Here's what we learned.

Lesson 1: Holistic Planned Paddocks Solve Problems

Last year, our herd started the growing season with continuous grazing—spread across the array, grazing wherever they wanted. Then Colorado Department of Agriculture grant funding came through, and suddenly we had the resources to pivot to holistic planned grazing with paddocks: temporary fencing, staff time for frequent moves, and an improved mobile water system.

But six weeks of continuous grazing had already compromised the forage. We spent the entire season chasing grass recovery—moving the herd because there wasn't enough growth to keep them in a paddock for more than a day or two.

This year's approach: starting with our holistic management plan in place.

We let the grass rest and grow all the way through spring before bringing sheep over. By June, when the grass hit that magical three-leaf stage (literally, three leaves on each shoot), we knew it was time. That moment—when the plant has regrown enough to thrive but before it's past its nutritional peak—is when ruminant grazing triggers root growth and maximizes nutrition.

The difference was immediate. And we realized the paddock system solved problems for everyone involved.

For the sheep: paddocks mean extra protection. We previously hadn't used one of our livestock guardian dogs on the site because of the technicians coming and going without us always present. But having sheep in a contained paddock meant we could safely leave a guardian dog with the herd for protection from predators (read: coyotes).

For us: paddocks make gathering and managing the herd more...manageable. Without temporary fencing, moving a herd across a 55-acre array includes some creative herding. The paddocks create some order and ease when working with the herd. It's still hard work, but it's much more predictable.

For the solar company: paddocks mean they know exactly where the animals are. They can plan maintenance, do repairs, work safely around known locations instead of wondering where sheep might be.

That's when we realized: paddocks aren't just about managing sheep. It's about managing the whole system—protecting animals, saving human energy, and making the solar operation smoother.

Lesson 2: Fine Tuning is Required

Solar arrays have a specific vegetation challenge: when grass and plants grow tall under the panels, they interfere with wires, equipment, and infrastructure—and they increase the risk of wildfire.

To solve this with animals takes concentrated grazing—high enough density and enough time on each paddock that the sheep eat the less desirable plants (thistle, teasel) and keep everything else short.

But here's the tension: it's a fine line between the concentration needed for thorough vegetation management and too much density for the animals that creates escape artists.

Because our herd started last season with continuous grazing, they weren't used to paddocks, and we weren't yet reading that fine line between keeping them well-fed enough to stay put and packed densely enough to actually clear the vegetation.

How'd we learn this lesson? By herding them back from the entirety of the 55-acre array—aka run a Tough Mudder—ducking under panels, moving down narrow alleys, collecting scattered animals. Good motivation to get it right.

Now that the sheep are used to the system and we've dialed in the paddock density and timing, we're at zero paddock breakouts in 2026.

Lesson 3: The Land Tells the Story

We use Ecological Outcome Verification (EOV) to measure how the land is actually responding to our management. It's not a feeling or an assumption. It's third-party data collection and comparison over time.

This year, the data told us something unmissable: holistic planned grazing is working.

Despite a significant drought year, 11 out of 13 monitored sites at the Kyndryl Solar Array showed improvement in ecological health index scores:

• Litter—a key indicator of soil activity and carbon cycling—improved on 8 sites and was better incorporated on 7 sites

• Water cycle indicators improved on 7 sites (crucial for resilience in a drought year)

• Dung decomposition improved on 8 sites

• Mineral cycles improved on 7 sites

• Western wheatgrass—a perennial cool-season grass we want to see—has begun filling in the high-trafficked roads that previously had bare ground

The two sites that showed a slight decrease? Both were recently grazed. That's not decline—that's the signature of active management. The ecological processes will continue improving as the growing season unfolds.

Managing regenerative agriculture at scale can start to feel like you're just maintaining the status quo day after day. EOV data is the thing that says: no.

The land is changing. Perennials are returning. Soil structure is improving. We're not just preserving the land—we're helping it heal.

Why This Matters

Regenerative agriculture isn't a neat, linear thing. It's learning by doing, adjusting by observing, listening to what the land actually tells us rather than what our plans said should happen.

We came to this work believing that livestock—managed well—could be part of the climate solution. This past year, we're seeing that belief validated in the data, in the forage growth, in the species diversity. The biggest skepticism we’ve had about solar grazing isn't about whether sheep can graze under panels. It's whether all this hard work is just good marketing for solar companies—whether it actually improves land and actually benefits all three parties (solar company, farmer, climate) or if it's greenwashing.

The EOV data starts to answer that question. Solar companies should focus on regenerative solar grazing: investing in ranchers who manage vegetation using holistic planned grazing will improve the health of the land. 

Starting with our holistic grazing plan in place this year changed everything. And the ecological outcomes data tells us we're on the right track.

If this model is going to scale—if it's going to matter for climate resilience alongside renewable energy deployment—it needs to work elsewhere. Not just at Longroots. Not just at one solar array. 

We're not there yet, but this year proved it's possible. That's the shift from "interesting experiment" to "scalable model."

Longroots Ranch implemented holistic planned grazing at the Kyndryal Solar Array with funding through the Colorado Agrivoltaics Grant. Our grazing management is guided by Holistic Management principles with support from UVE and verified through third-party Ecological Outcome Verification. 

If you're a solar developer, farmer, or land manager interested in exploring solar grazing for your operation, reach out.