News and Stories

Sheep are now grazing beneath the solar array at Bowyer Farm!

This marks a major milestone in our partnership with Ohio Solar Grazing (OSG) and our ongoing commitment to innovative land stewardship through agrivoltaics—the co-location of solar energy production and agriculture.

Bowyer Farm’s Solar Array

The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is leasing 140 acres at Bowyer Farm to Harrison Street, a renewable power producer, for the development of one of Southwest Ohio’s largest solar arrays. The 30-megawatt system is now generating clean energy for companies across the region working to meet ambitious sustainability goals.

In addition to offsetting carbon emissions, the project will generate $150,000 annually for Lebanon City Schools, demonstrating how solar can provide real, local impact beyond electricity.

Who Is Ohio Solar Grazing:

Ohio Solar Grazing is a Hillsboro-based partnership that provides comprehensive vegetation management for utility-scale solar sites across Southern Ohio. They offer a sustainable “sheep-as-a-service” model, using livestock to control vegetation beneath solar panels. This approach supports both renewable energy infrastructure and local agriculture through innovative agrivoltaic practices.

Meet Brady and Amanda Kirwan, our dedicated shepherds and proud owners of Ohio Solar Grazing!

Why Sheep? Why Now?

Rather than relying on gas-powered mowers for vegetation management beneath the panels, we’re taking a greener, more regenerative route by introducing 250–300 grazing sheep under the solar array this summer. As the vegetation becomes established, we’ll scale up to 800 sheep—all part of a rotational grazing plan designed to improve land health.

This approach:

• Keeps farmland in active production
• Restores soil health through natural grazing
• Eliminates emissions from mowing
• Provides a source of local, organic meat

The sheep at Bowyer Farm are managed by Ohio Solar Grazing using a paddock rotation system, which allows each grazed section time to recover. This method not only supports healthy pasture growth but also enhances habitats for native pollinators.

Supporting local sheep farmers is important because the majority of lamb consumed in the U.S. is imported. Strengthening local supply chains helps build food security, reduce transportation emissions, and support regional agricultural economies. Click the button below to learn more about lamb and mutton imports.

Why Agrivoltaics Matters

Agrivoltaics allows us to combine solar energy with agricultural practices, ensuring that farmland remains productive while contributing to climate solutions.

As solar grows in Ohio, some rural communities have voiced concerns about converting farmland to energy production. Agrivoltaics projects like Bowyer Farm help bridge that gap—proving that solar and agriculture can thrive side by side. Click the links down below to read more on Ohio solar!

More Than Just Solar Panels

The Zoo’s Horticulture Manager Brian Jorg and the Bowyer Farm team have crafted a holistic conservation plan for the site, which includes:

• Bird box installation for kestrels, bluebirds, and owls
• Restoration of a natural vernal pool, providing critical breeding habitat for salamanders and other species
• 5+ acres of pollinator habitat planted alongside the array using a mix of native grasses and clover
• Buttonbush and hibiscus plantings to provide shade and microhabitats for wetland species

Temporary fencing will be used as needed to protect sensitive areas like the vernal pool, inverter boxes, and pollinator zones from curious sheep. dapibus leo.

Novel Solar Research at Bowyer: Ecosystem Health

With solar farms popping up everywhere in our transition to clean energy, local researchers are interested in how solar farms affect our native fauna (and are coming to us for their data!)

• Project 1:Insect ecology, University of Dayton PhD research
  • Multi-year study, data collected across three micro-habitats on and adjacent to the solar farm
• Project 2: Mammal response to solar farms in Western Ohio, University of Dayton Master’s research

Focus on species richness and occupancy, non-invasive methods