In Western China's solar farms, sheep graze under solar panels

On a windswept plateau of China's northwestern Qinghai province, 25-year-old shepherd Li Yonglin no longer spends his days chasing his flock of 300 sheep to keep them from wandering off into desert sands.

Instead, he simply opens the pen in the morning inside a massive solar farm, lets his sheep graze on the lush grass beneath rows of solar panels, and goes about his day until they return on their own in the evening.

"In the past, the grass on our own pastures wasn't very good," Li said. "Since moving into the solar park, the grass is excellent and the rainfall is plentiful, so the grass grows thick."

Li's routine reflects a unique ecological and economic symbiosis unfolding across the Talatan desert in Qinghai's Hainan Prefecture. The sprawling solar installations, built on once-barren Gobi desert lands, have turned severe environmental degradation into pastureland. At the same time, they are saving money for power companies and helping local herders earn a better living.

Before solar panels were installed in 2012, Talatan suffered from severe windstorms and desertification. Soil moisture was almost non-existent. Herders had to move continuously to find food for their animals or buy supplementary feed like corn.

The installation of millions of solar panels changed the local climate. The panels' shade cools the ground and keeps moisture in the soil, helping grass grow on land that was once barren. It also gives the sheep cover from the sun.

The panels also create a second effect, according to Cao Jun, safety supervisor at the Hainan Prefecture project for State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC).

"The solar panels generate heat during operation and the space beneath them effectively acts as a greenhouse," he said. "Additionally, the panels receive periodic cleaning throughout the year, as they tend to accumulate dirt. The water used during this process flows down into the soil, serving as a form of indirect irrigation."

According to Liu Ta, deputy director of the Green Industry Development Park management committee, plant coverage in the area has risen from nearly nothing to over 80 percent. Plant species have increased from four to more than eight, and wild animals like foxes, rabbits, lizards, and birds have returned.

However, this plant growth created a new problem for the solar companies. High grass creates a fire risk during dry months. Clearing the weeds by hand across a typical 1,000-megawatt area costs companies more than 1.3 million yuan ($195,000) every year.

The solution came in the form of "solar sheep."

Park authorities raised the solar panels higher off the ground, from 0.5 meters to 1.5 meters, and widened the gaps between rows so sheep could pass through easily. Between May and November, local herders are invited to graze their animals inside 32 solar pastures for free. Today, around 20,000 sheep graze at the site.

“Grazing herdsmen’s flocks within the solar park solves the problem of weed control and reduce maintenance costs for the enterprise, while simultaneously saving on forage expenses and boosting their income from livestock," Liu said. "Local herdsmen drive their flocks into the park to graze, creating an industrial model by power generation from the panel and livestock grazing beneath the panels.”

For 43-year-old local shepherd Wen Yujun, who manages 700 to 800 sheep, the project has completely changed his family's life.

Before joining three years ago, Wen rented scattered pastures, struggled through harsh winters, and earned only about 10,000 yuan ($1,500) a year. Now, using free pasture provided by power operators like China Huaneng Group, his annual income has reached about 80,000 yuan ($12,000). Li, too, has seen his earnings grow from 10,000–20,000 yuan ($1,500 - $3,000) to 50,000–60,000 yuan ($7,500 - $9,000).

"In the past, the environment was harsh. It was dry and plagued by blowing sand and stones," Wen said. "Now, conditions have improved and the vegetation has recovered well."

With free grass replacing bought feed and fenced areas saving hours of labour, many herders have used their extra income to buy homes in nearby towns.

"We’ve bought a home in the county, and the children go to school there," Wen said. "I handle the herding here on my own, while my wife lives in the county and takes care of the kids. Life has changed tremendously. I never could have imagined it before."

While electricity from the solar farm is sent to big Chinese cities like Beijing and Shanghai, herders like Li and Wen are seeing immediate benefits right at home.

"Our income has increased," Li said. "It has made grazing much easier for us."

Camera, Editing, Writing: Xihao Jiang/Reuters