For Alex Greer, expanding his small sheep business was difficult because he lacked access to enough land. In 2021, an opportunity in North Carolina offered a different route: grazing beneath solar panels. According to North Carolina State University’s Centre for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS), the NC Choices programme connected Greer, who runs 37 Roots Farm, with the solar company Renew Petra. The first agreement covered a 33-acre site near Asheboro. By autumn, he had secured a second contract at a five-acre solar site. Together, the locations gave him access to 38 acres for grazing and vegetation management without requiring him to buy additional farmland.
A new route to pasture
