A flock of sheep has been put the work slicing the grass at one in all Canada’s largest photo voltaic farms in Sarnia.
“So whenever they see Brent and I, they think they’re going to get new food. They’re very loud sometimes. They are always hungry, not for lack of nothing to eat, but they like to make noise and be loud constantly,” defined Meika Pelleboer.
Meika and her husband Brent Pelleboer function Angus Farms in Camlachie, northeast of Sarnia.
Shepherds Meika and Brent Pelleboer of Angus Creek Farms (Bryan Bicknell/ Ontario Chronicle London)
They’ve relocated their 275 sheep to Sarnia Photo voltaic for the summer season. It’s a photo voltaic farm owned by power firm Enbridge on the outskirts of Sarnia. The sheep are sustaining the vegetation by consuming the grass and weeds, protecting an 85 acre plot on the huge website.
“I mean obviously they love eating grass,” defined Brent. “They’re small so they can get under the panels and manoeuvre them easily. Whereas, it’s a little bit more difficult for a person or a lawn mower to get under there,” he mentioned.
The photo voltaic farm has greater than 1.3 million photo voltaic panels. It produces 80 MW of electrical energy, sufficient power to energy between 14,000 and 16,000 houses, mentioned Sarnia Photo voltaic Operations Supervisor Ian Robertson.
Sheep keep the grass at Sarnia Photo voltaic (Bryan Bicknell/ Ontario Chronicle London)
“Producing the power that we produce, we’re not taking a giant footprint up. Now we’re also stabilizing another resource as well by having the sheep come in, and they get to feed off of the area,” he mentioned.
The distinctive partnership is a pilot venture for this 12 months. Enbridge says the four-legged garden cutters may get rid of the necessity for pesticides. Additionally they assist the expansion of native flowering vegetation.
The corporate is monitoring for different doable advantages, because the ewes, accompanied by their guard canines Ned and Ivy, full their summer season internships.
