Key Takeaways
- Avangrid has deployed over 5,000 sheep across four solar sites — three in Oregon and one in Washington — to manage vegetation naturally this spring.
- The company is partnering with Cameron Krebs of Krebs Solar Grazing, a fifth-generation Oregon rancher with deep roots in lamb and wool production on the Columbia Plateau.
- The solar grazing program began as a small pilot in 2023 and has since grown into a full-scale vegetation management operation.
- Grazing sheep help Avangrid reduce fire risk at its solar facilities ahead of hot, dry Pacific Northwest summers by limiting spring vegetation growth.
- The company is evaluating opportunities to expand solar grazing to additional facilities both regionally and nationally.
Avangrid, Inc., a member of the Iberdrola Group, has returned more than 5,000 sheep to four of its solar energy facilities across Oregon and Washington this spring as part of an ongoing vegetation management program. The initiative, known as solar grazing, uses livestock rather than machinery to control grass and weed growth and reduce wildfire risk during the region's dry summer months.
Solar Grazing Across Four Avangrid Facilities
Sheep are currently grazing at Daybreak Solar, Bakeoven Solar, and Pachwáywit Fields Solar in Oregon, as well as Lund Hill Solar in Washington. All four sites sit on the Columbia Plateau, a region with strong agricultural and ranching traditions. Avangrid personnel and Krebs Solar Grazing collaborate each spring to develop a grazing plan tailored to each facility's vegetation cycle. Sheep navigate around and beneath solar panels, consuming grasses and weeds without the mechanical disturbance of conventional equipment.
“This is a partnership and a management strategy indicative of Avangrid's long-term commitment to these communities,” said Jose Antonio Miranda, CEO of Avangrid. “Not only are we effectively managing our facilities in ways that incorporate the region's historical ties to ranching, but cultivating strong local partnerships to collaboratively maintain our solar projects.”
A Fifth-Generation Ranching Partnership
Avangrid has worked with Cameron Krebs, owner of Krebs Solar Grazing, since 2024. Krebs is a fifth-generation Oregon rancher whose family has operated in the region's lamb and wool industry for generations. The collaboration reflects the company's stated goal of integrating its solar operations into the cultural and economic fabric of host communities.
“When new industries move into our communities, it's nice to see a partner like Avangrid engaging those of us who are born and raised here and looking at sustainable ways to take care of this landscape together,” said Krebs. “Our primary objective is to reduce the vegetation in the facility, maintain its high functionality, and create resilience through summer.”
Avangrid's Long-Term Operations Strategy
The solar grazing program traces back to a pilot project launched in 2023. Within two years it expanded into a multi-site operation across two states. For Avangrid, the approach is framed as part of a broader commitment to responsible, long-duration asset management — the company designs its solar projects with operating lifespans of 30 years or more.
“What began as a small pilot project in 2023 has turned into a full-fledged vegetation management operation in just a few short years,” said Lora Chante, Vice President of Operations and Maintenance at Avangrid. “We build our projects with the intent to operate them for 30 years or more, meaning it is important that we remain a great neighbor and exceptional community partner. Utilizing sheep grazing at our solar projects is helping us accomplish these goals by keeping our facilities clean and safe.”
Avangrid said it is actively exploring opportunities to bring solar grazing to additional projects in the Pacific Northwest and in other parts of the country.
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