It’s more of a baa-ter arrangement.
Volkswagen has some woolly new unofficial employees flocking to one of its European facilities. There are now 100 sheep grazing at the solar farm that powers the car company’s manufacturing plant in Poznań, Poland. Electrek reports that in addition to replacing lawn mowers, the critters are part of a bigger research project to study agrivoltaics, where agriculture and energy are farmed in the same space in a symbiotic relationship. Poznań University of Life Sciences is handling the study of the flock, exploring how the grazing activity impacts animal welfare, biodiversity, soil quality, vegetation and the microclimate at the site.
“Today, the photovoltaic farm delivers much more than green electricity. It has also become a place that supports biodiversity, local agriculture, and scientific research. The sheep grazing project demonstrates that modern industry can work in harmony with nature,” Marzena Pillich-Grońska, director of Volkswagen Poznań, said. A video posted by Quanta Energy, which built Volkswagen’s solar farm, shows some of the sheep in situ:
Agrivoltaics has become a compelling subject for the energy industry, allowing hybrid use of land. We’ve seen experiments with crops grown under solar panels, but the introduction of livestock seems both smart and adorable.