Houston Solar is indeed “Sheeper” and so much more

Last week The Houston Home Journal printed a cartoon of a dog, surrounded by sheep and solar panels, asking, “How is this going to reduce my electric bill?”

I write today to answer that pup’s question and provide a bit more insight into the overall economic benefits made possible by Silicon Ranch’s solar facility in Houston County.

Utility-scale solar energy has become the lowest-cost source of new energy generation over the past decade. Moreover, since sunlight is free, once a solar project is built, the low cost of solar power is reliable, consistent, and predictable. Therefore, solar power plays an important role in helping keep energy rates low because solar power is not subject to the same fluctuations that energy sources generated from fossil fuels experience over time. The Houston Solar facility serves thirty electric cooperatives across Georgia—including Flint Energies—and the rate their members pay for power generated by the Houston Solar facility is locked in for the next 30 years. The EMCs can plan around it and know that—even in the face of increases in energy demand and price fluctuations from other sources of energy—the price of power they buy from Houston Solar will not change.

The Houston Solar Project also represents other meaningful economic impacts. As the owner and operator of the facility, including the land we occupy, Silicon Ranch invested more than $100 million in Houston County, and as a landowner, Silicon Ranch will pay more than $8 million in local taxes that will support infrastructure, schools, and other community-identified priorities over the life of the project. Houston Solar, along with our other solar projects across the state, help keep Georgia the #1 place for business by supporting economic development activities that attract new investment.

And yes, those 900 sheep we own and have grazing under and around our solar panels help us reduce mowing costs. In 2023, we were able to mow the site only once, compared with the standard five times per year. In addition to helping us manage our vegetation, our sheep are also regenerating the soil health, while improving biodiversity, water quality, and habitat around the site. 

And as covered by this very paper just a couple of weeks ago when we welcomed state and local officials and members of the community to our new lambing barn (“Silicon Ranch unveils Houston Solar Project, lambing barn to community,” April 12, 2024), these sheep represent the largest Katahdin flock enrolled in the National Sheep Improvement Program, which provides predictable, economically important genetic evaluation information to the U.S. sheep industry to improve the genetics and production of the national flock.

Finally, Houston Solar provides aspiring farmers, including those from nearby Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, with opportunities to learn about new career options in the emerging field of agrivoltaics that Silicon Ranch pioneered, which refers to the dual use of solar land for agricultural production. 

As I hope those of you who read this letter will appreciate, we’re proud of the work our team is doing in Houston County and grateful for the opportunity to work with Georgia’s electric cooperatives and our local partners—including the Houston County Board of Commissioners and the Houston County Development Authority—to help deliver positive outcomes in the community and across the state. 

One final comment. With Jim Balletto’s permission, I love the line in his cartoon “It’s Sheeper This Way!” and plan to borrow that with pride for future use!

Reagan Farr is the co-founder and CEO of Silicon Ranch, a solar company based in Nashville, Tennessee that is pioneering agrivoltaics through its Regenerative Energy® model of land management. The company owns and operates every project it develops and the land it occupies, including the Houston Solar Project in Elko, Georgia. Since its first project came online in Georgia more than a decade ago, Silicon Ranch has invested more than $2 billion in Georgia and is on pace to contribute more than $190 million in local taxes across the state. Houston Solar became operational in late 2021 and is located just off I-75, just a few miles from the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter in nearby Perry. In 2023, Silicon Ranch hosted more than 250 members of the Georgia Young Farmers Association at the project site to learn more about agrivoltaics and opportunities for aspiring farmers and ranchers.