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LG&E and KU incorporate more sheep as part of utilities’ sustainable initiatives
LG&E and KU are expanding the use of sheep to manage vegetation to their Solar Share facility just off I-64 in Simpsonville, Ky. Photo furnished
What began as an innovative idea at a Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company generating station in Mercer County, Kentucky is picking up momentum, expanding into Shelby County. After first adding a flock of sheep to their E.W. Brown Generating Station, the utilities are now incorporating a second flock of sheep, this time at their Solar Share facility in Simpsonville. After first adding a flock of sheep to their E.W. Brown Generating Station, the utilities are now incorporating a second flock of sheep, this time at their Solar Share facility in Simpsonville.
“Our flock at E.W. Brown has successfully integrated with our native landscape and, as planned, are serving their purpose, which includes sustainably managing vegetation around the solar panels as well as the cost of upkeep,” said Aron Patrick, director of Research and Development at LG&E and KU and the PPL family of utilities. “We’ve been so pleased with how it’s gone that we decided to explore the same type of incorporation at our Solar Share facility.”
LG&E and KU added about 50 sheep to seven-and-a-half acres of the 35-acre Solar Share site in late spring. The new flock consists of 49 ewes, or female sheep, and one male ram. While the site has existing pollinator habitats, which LG&E and KU have worked to incorporate around their facilities, the sheep will graze on grass and hay native to the area and already on the grounds of the Solar Share site. The flock will be on site throughout the warmer months and cared for by a nearby farm, also in Shelby County. The sheeps’ annual return will be evaluated based on anticipated construction activity as the facility expands.
Solar Share facility growth
Once fully subscribed and built out, LG&E and KU’s Solar Share facility will produce up to 4 megawatts of sustainable energy. Photo furnished
Not only is LG&E and KU’s Solar Share facility welcoming the sheep, but the program behind the facility continues to welcome new subscribers. Just last summer, the utilities celebrated the completion of section five of the facility and, currently, subscriptions to section six are at 30% and rising. Once completed, the solar facility will have a total of eight 500-kilowatt sections, capable of producing a total of four megawatts. LG&E and KU will construct the remaining sections planned for the site once each is fully subscribed.
The subscription-based Solar Share program is a cost-effective option available to LG&E and KU’s residential, business and industrial customers who want to support solar energy for as little as 20 cents per day. By participating in the program, customers get the benefits from solar energy without having to pay the added up-front and long-term expenses that come when installing and maintaining a private solar system.
Ewe interested in learning more?
If you’re interested in all sheep, all the time, check out LG&E and KU’s “EweTube channel,” featuring the utilities’ flock at E.W. Brown Generating Station.
Check out the utilities’ website at lge-ku.com/sustainability, to find out more about the sheep and other ways LG&E and KU is working to create a cleaner, greener, more sustainable Kentucky.