Partnership Spotlight: Solar

Building successful solar pairings to support farmer education in North Carolina

Strata Solar/ Lance Tabor- Reidsville, NC

Project size: 40 acres 

Rockingham County, NC

Type of operation: Sheep

Objective 1: Contracted Solar Grazing

Step by step:

  • June 2021: Lance attends NC Choices’ solar presentation and actively seeks solar sites.
  • Aug. 2021: Site visits conducted with Strata and Lance
  • Nov. 2021: Proposal and vegetation management plan submitted. Lance accepted
  • March 2022: ~20 sheep move onto the site
  • April 2022: 21 additional sheep move onto the site
  • Summer 2022: Fence repairs

Summary:

Lance Tabor attended an NC Choices presentation on the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development program.  After learning about solar site pairing for new farmers, he reached out to NC Choices staff with interest knowing his farm was in close proximity to multiple solar sites and in need of additional affordable acreage to expand his operation.  NC Choices scoped multiple sites and was able to arrange for a meeting with Lance and Strata solar.  Per the timeline above, Lance was able to move sheep onto the site and double his herd capacity within a matter of weeks. He manages the complete mowing and grazing management of the site and uses guard dogs for predator control.  Lance actively seeks additional sites to make solar grazing encompass an even larger part of his work schedule.

Sample Vegetation Management from ASGA (sample template here)

Sheep move onto grazing site

Two large solar panels. In between the panels is grass and a large, fluffy, white dog is sitting in the grass
Behind a fence are rows of solar panels
Solar panels in the back right. In the foreground and to the left is grass. Two large and two small sheep are walking in the grass away from the camera
Two men stand on either side of the photo, talking to one another. In between them is a dirt raod and behind the man on the right is a fence
A selfie from a man in a hard hat and yellow vest on the right of the photo. Behind him are two large solar panels and in the background are trees
A herding dog is in the center of the photo. Behind the dog are solar panels and inbetween the solar panels are sheep
In the background are solar panels and sheep are leaving a row of solar panels. In the foreground is grass and a herding dog on the right looking back at the sheep
A photo of solar panels from the back where the undersides are visibile. Sheep are in between the solar panels, they are difficult to see
Solar panels on the left side of the photo. Sheep and a herding dog are in the center of the photo walking towards the fence. A fence encirlces the area and solar panels