Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 9 hrs ago
Tennessee solar project combines cattle grazing with power generation
In Christiana, Tennessee, Silicon Ranch is grazing cattle beneath solar panels at a 3.25-megawatt solar project.
The 15-cow herd moves between fenced paddocks and eats grass growing under panels raised on higher-than-usual supports.
Silicon Ranch says this is the first commercially viable utility-scale US project to combine solar power and cattle farming.
Solar projects often face local opposition over land use, while cattle can damage standard panels, making this approach harder to design.
The company says it kept the extra cost of strengthening the equipment to 3% above a standard design and sold the electricity to Middle Tennessee Electric for less than wholesale rates.
If the model can be scaled, farmers could earn more from the same land while the US adds clean electricity; the source does not say what projects may come next.
Silicon Ranch is combining cattle grazing and solar power at a 3.25-megawatt project in Christiana, Tennessee.
The project has a 15-member herd that rotates among 15 paddocks and grazes Bermuda grass growing beneath the panels.
Silicon Ranch says it is the first commercially viable utility-scale project in the United States to combine solar and cattle farming.
The company designed the arrays to withstand cattle and says reinforcing them added 3% to the standard design cost.
Combining farming with solar power could help address local opposition to solar projects and provide farmers with additional revenue.
- Who
- Silicon Ranch, a Tennessee solar developer, and a 15-member herd of cattle.
- What
- A 3.25-megawatt solar project combines electricity generation with cattle grazing.
- When
- The cattle were brought to the project six months before the November 2026 report.
- Where
- Christiana, Tennessee.
- Why
- The model aims to combine solar power with agriculture, potentially supporting farmer revenue and easing local opposition to solar development.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Silicon Ranch brought cattle to the solar project.
The project had a 15-member herd rotating among 15 paddocks beneath the solar panels.
- Project capacity
- 3.25 megawatts
- Herd size
- 15 cattle
- Grazing paddocks
- 15
- Reinforcement cost premium
- 3% over the standard design
- Location
- Christiana, Tennessee
What people are saying
I thought it would work — I just didn’t think it would work this well.
If you’re designing a solar facility that is suitable for cattle grazing, it generally requires more specific and unique design.