BUCKHOLTS, Texas (AP) — On rural Texas farmland, beneath hundreds of rows of solar panels, a troop of stocky sheep rummage through pasture, casually bumping into one another as they remain committed to a single task: chewing grass.
The booming solar industry has found an unlikely mascot in sheep as large-scale solar farms crop up across the U.S. and in the plain fields of Texas. In Milam County, outside Austin, SB Energy operates the fifth-largest solar project in the country, capable of generating 900 megawatts of power across 4,000 acres (1,618 hectares).
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Sheep graze on a solar farm owned by SB Energy on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Buckholts, Texas. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Sheep walk near solar panels on a solar farm owned by SB Energy on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Buckholts, Texas. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Sheep graze on a solar farm owned by SB Energy on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Buckholts, Texas. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
A sheep grazes under solar panels on a solar farm owned by SB Energy on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Buckholts, Texas. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Sheep walk near solar panels on a solar farm owned by SB Energy on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Buckholts, Texas. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Sheep walk near solar panels on a solar farm owned by SB Energy on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Buckholts, Texas. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Sheep graze on a solar farm owned by SB Energy on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Buckholts, Texas. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
How do they manage all that grass? With the help of about 3,000 sheep, which are better suited than lawnmowers to fit between small crevices and chew away rain or shine.
The proliferation of sheep on solar farms is part of a broader trend — solar grazing — that has exploded alongside the solar industry.
Agrivoltaics, a method using land for both solar energy production and agriculture, is on the rise with more than 60 solar grazing projects in the U.S., according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The American Solar Grazing Association says 27 states engage in the practice.
“The industry tends to rely on gas-powered mowers, which kind of contradicts the purpose of renewables,” SB Energy asset manager James Hawkins said.
Putting the animals to work on solar fields also provides some help to the sheep and wool market, which has struggled in recent years. The inventory of sheep and lamb in Texas fell to 655,000 in January 2024, a 4% drop from the previous year, according to the most recent figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Because solar fields use sunny, flat land that is often ideal for livestock grazing, the power plants have been used in coordination with farmers rather than against them.
Sheepherder JR Howard accidentally found himself in the middle of Texas’ burgeoning clean energy transition. In 2021, he and his family began contracting with solar farms — sites with hundreds of thousands of solar modules — to use his sheep to eat the grass.
What was once a small business has turned into a full-scale operation with more than 8,000 sheep and 26 employees.
“Just the growth has been kind of crazy for us,” said Howard, who named his company Texas Solar Sheep. “It’s been great for me and my family.”
Some agriculture experts say Howard's success reflects how solar farms have become a boon for some ranchers.
Reid Redden, a sheep farmer and solar vegetation manager in San Angelo, Texas, said a successful sheep business requires agricultural land that has become increasingly scarce.
“Solar grazing is probably the biggest opportunity that the sheep industry had in the United States in several generations,” Redden said.
The response to solar grazing has been overwhelmingly positive in rural communities near South Texas solar farms where Redden raises sheep for sites to use, he said.
“I think it softens the blow of the big shock and awe of a big solar farm coming in,” Redden said.
Agrivoltaics itself isn't new. Solar farms are land-intensive and require a lot of space that could be used for food production. Agrivoltaics compensates by allowing the two to coexist, whether growing food or caring for livestock.
There is a lot still unknown about the full effects of solar grazing, said Nuria Gomez-Casanovas, an assistant professor in regenerative system ecology at Texas A&M University.
Not enough studies have been done to know the long-term environmental impacts, such as how viable the soil will be for future agriculture, although Gomez-Casanovas suspects solar grazing may improve sheep productivity because the panels provide shade and can be more cost-efficient than mowing.
“We really have more questions than answers,” Gomez-Casanovas said. “There are studies that show that the land productivity is not higher versus solar alone or agriculture alone, so it's context-dependent.”
As one of Texas' largest solar sheep operators, Howard has more clients than he can handle. He expects to add about 20 more employees by the end of this year, which would nearly double his current workforce. As for the sheep, he has enough already.
Lathan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Sheep graze on a solar farm owned by SB Energy on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Buckholts, Texas. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Sheep walk near solar panels on a solar farm owned by SB Energy on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Buckholts, Texas. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Sheep graze on a solar farm owned by SB Energy on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Buckholts, Texas. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
A sheep grazes under solar panels on a solar farm owned by SB Energy on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Buckholts, Texas. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Sheep walk near solar panels on a solar farm owned by SB Energy on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Buckholts, Texas. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Sheep walk near solar panels on a solar farm owned by SB Energy on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Buckholts, Texas. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Sheep graze on a solar farm owned by SB Energy on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Buckholts, Texas. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
DALLAS (AP) — Colin Blackwell scored 17:46 into overtime and the Dallas Stars beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 on Monday night in Game 2 to even up their first-round Western Conference series.
Blackwell initially took a shot that ricocheted off teammate Sam Steel and Avs defenseman Samuel Girard in front of the net. But with the puck rolling loose on the ice, the fourth-line forward circled around and knocked it in for the winner.
“It’s been a long season, and not playing the first game, stuff like that, just kind of been in and out of the lineup toward the end here,” Blackwell said. “I always felt my game’s kinda built for the playoffs and stuff along those lines. I love rising to the occasion and playing in moments like this.”
Tyler Seguin, Thomas Harley and Evgenii Dadonov also had goals for Dallas, which avoided losing the first two games in its opening-round series for the second year in a row. The Stars did open with their eighth consecutive Game 1 loss since 2022, after going into this postseason with a seven-game losing streak (0-5-2).
Colorado had finished the final 1:26 of regulation and first 34 seconds of overtime on a power play after a hooking penalty against Mikko Rantenen, who the Avalanche traded on Jan. 24 to Carolina in the East, where he played only 13 games before getting traded March 7 back to the Central Division to Dallas and getting a new $96 million, eight-year contract.
Stars goalie Jake Oettinger stopped 34 shots. Mackenzie Blackwood had 35 saves in his second career playoff game, but the final shot went off his left shoulder.
Nathan MacKinnon scored on a power play for his third goal in this series for the Avalanche, and his 51st in the NHL playoffs. Jack Drury and Logan O’Connor also scored.
The series switches to Denver for Game 3 on Wednesday night, when there is a chance that Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog could play for the first time in nearly three years. His last game was June 26, 2022, when they beat Tampa Bay 2-1 in Game 6 to clinch the Stanley Cup, before a chronic right knee injury that led to two surgeries and multiple comeback attempts.
Landeskog was activated off injured reserve early Monday, and was the first Colorado skater to take the ice for pregame warmups. But he was a scratch for the game.
O’Connor had a go-ahead goal in the final minute of the second period with Mason Marchment draped around him for a 3-2 lead, not long after the Stars used a timeout in hopes of taking advantage of a short two-man advantage but coming up empty on nearly four minutes on the power play.
Dallas took an advantage with 4:48 left in the second period, and almost immediately Blackwood made a sliding kick save to deny Marchment. There was only seven seconds left on power play when Colorado got another penalty, and Stars coach Pete DeBoer called timeout.
But Charlie Coyle won the ensuing faceoff for the Avs against Wyatt Johnston, and Devon Toews sent the puck to the other end of the ice to quickly erase the two-man advantage.
Harley gave Dallas its first lead in the series 3:40 in the second period, but that lasted only 62 seconds before Drury’s goal tied the game at 2 with Rantanen right by him. Drury came to Colorado from Carolina as part of the initial trade that sent Rantanen to the Hurricanes.
The Stars matched MacKinnon’s goal with a power play in the final minute of the first period. Captain Jamie Benn skated behind the net, passed to Marchment in the middle of the right circle before he pushed the puck across to Seguin in the opposite circle for the slap shot.
Seguin was in only his third game since missing 58 games over 4 1/2 months because of left hip surgery. He returned for the regular season finale last Wednesday, and hadn't scored since the day after Thanksgiving.
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Dallas Stars players celebrate a game-winning goal by Colin Blackwell, not pictured, during overtime in Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche early Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Dallas Stars center Colin Blackwell, right, is congratulated by teammates center Tyler Seguin (91) and goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) after scoring the game-winning goal against the Colorado Avalanche during overtime in Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series early Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
A shot by Dallas Stars center Colin Blackwell (15) gets by Colorado Avalanche goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood, right, for the game-winning goal during overtime in Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series early Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Dallas Stars center Colin Blackwell (15) celebrates his game-winning goal with teammates defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin (46) and center Sam Steel (18) during overtime in Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche early Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Dallas Stars right wing Evgenii Dadonov (63) sneaks the puck by Colorado Avalanche goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood (39) for a goal as left wing Joel Kiviranta (94) tries to defend during the third period in Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Monday, April 21, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Dallas Stars center Colin Blackwell (15) competes for possession against Colorado Avalanche center Martin Necas (88) during the first period in Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Monday, April 21, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
A shot by Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin, not visible, gets by Colorado Avalanche goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood (39) for a power play goal during the first period in Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Monday, April 21, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Colorado Avalanche defenseman Ryan Lindgren, left, reacts after shot by teammate center Jack Drury, not visible, entered the net of Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger, right, for a goal during the second period in Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Monday, April 21, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Dallas Stars center Colin Blackwell (15) skates away from the puck after taking it from Colorado Avalanche center Martin Necas during the first period in Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Monday, April 21, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Colorado Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson, left, and Dallas Stars right wing Mikko Rantanen (96) collide while competing for the puck during the first period in Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Monday, April 21, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Dallas Stars players celebrate a power play goal by center Tyler Seguin, second from right, during the first period in Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche Monday, April 21, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Colorado Avalanche center Martin Necas (88) and Dallas Stars center Sam Steel (18) compete for possession as referee Graham Skilliter (24) tries to get away during the first period in Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Monday, April 21, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Colorado Avalanche players celebrate a goal by Logan O'Connor (25) as Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) skates on his crease during the second period in Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Monday, April 21, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Colorado Avalanche right wing Logan O'Connor, bottom, reacts after scoring a goal against the Dallas Stars during the second period in Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series Monday, April 21, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
