The first nationwide census of US solar grazing reported that Texas accounted for 68,626 acres, 36,237 sheep and 55 solar sites in 2024.

That acreage is not a new land conversion announced in 2026. It is a survey-based snapshot as of October 2024, collected by the American Solar Grazing Association and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and published in 2025.

Solar grazing is one form of agrivoltaics, which means using the same land for solar electricity and agriculture. In this case, sheep graze beneath and between solar panels while helping control vegetation.

What the national census counted

The census recorded 129,261 acres, 113,050 sheep and 506 solar sites across 30 states. Texas represented more than half of the reported US acreage, although it accounted for a smaller share of the sheep and sites.

Those totals came from a two-stage electronic survey. The first round ran from September 29, 2023, to January 31, 2024. A second round, conducted from August 14 to October 25, 2024, asked active solar graziers to clarify and update their information.

The researchers received 127 responses, including 65 from people who were actively solar grazing when surveyed. They contacted participants to address possible double-counting, but the report says the final figures still depended on information supplied by respondents.

The numbers should therefore be read as the census team’s best estimate, not as a complete government land registry or a live count for 2026.

Why sheep are used beneath solar panels

Large solar sites need vegetation management so that grass and weeds do not overwhelm access routes and equipment. Sheep can reach spaces beneath panels that are awkward for conventional mowing machinery.

The US Department of Energy’s farmer guide says most standard utility-scale panel heights can accommodate sheep. It also says solar operators may reduce their reliance on mowing, herbicide and other vegetation-control work, while local shepherds may receive payment for managing the grazing.

Independent field reporting shows how this can work at scale. The Associated Press reported from a 4,000-acre solar project in Buckholts, Texas, where about 3,000 sheep were being used to manage grass around the panels in December 2024.

That example illustrates the practice, but it does not establish that every solar farm can replace mowing entirely. The census found that hybrid grazing and mowing was common, and about two-thirds of respondents were responsible for vegetation work beyond sheep grazing.

Why Texas is an important case

Texas already has a large and growing solar sector. The Energy Information Administration’s Texas profile recorded 25,400 megawatts of utility-scale and small-scale solar capacity in the state at the end of 2024. Solar supplied about 8% of Texas electricity generation that year.

The EIA now expects solar generation on the ERCOT grid to increase from 56 billion kilowatt-hours in 2025 to 106 billion kilowatt-hours in 2027. That is a forecast, not a completed result, and growth in solar electricity does not automatically mean a matching increase in solar grazing.

It does, however, make the land-management question increasingly relevant. As more ground-mounted solar projects operate in Texas, developers and agricultural producers will have more reason to examine whether compatible sites can continue supporting livestock work.

The model depends on design and management

Solar grazing is not simply a matter of putting sheep inside an existing solar facility.

The census identified fencing, water access and overall site design as the leading factors that made grazing easier or harder. Wire management and forage quality were also recurring concerns. Poorly protected cables can create risks for animals and equipment, while unsuitable gates or fencing can complicate herd movement and predator control.

Panel clearance matters too. Sheep can generally fit beneath standard utility-scale arrays, but the Department of Energy says cattle usually require higher panels. Any fencing or machinery must also be compatible with panel rows and tracking equipment.

Those details affect labour and contract prices. The census found that site design, panel type and wire management were the most influential contract-pricing considerations reported by participants.

Useful option, not a universal solution

Agrivoltaics can keep some land in agricultural use while it produces electricity. The Department of Energy’s agrivoltaics overview says the approach may diversify farm income, reduce competition over land and create ecological benefits when projects are planned carefully.

Those are possibilities, not guaranteed outcomes. Climate, forage, soil, flock size, water, labour, contracts and solar-array design all differ from site to site.

The Associated Press cited a Texas A&M researcher who said the long-term environmental effects of solar grazing remain insufficiently studied and that land-productivity results are context-dependent.

The 2024 census establishes that solar grazing was already operating at substantial scale, especially in Texas. It does not prove that the model improves every site, nor does it tell readers how much the Texas acreage has changed since October 2024. A future census will be needed for that comparison.