Workers at a solar energy farm in Kosovo have found a greener, more efficient way to mow the grass around their solar panels: a flock of sheep.
More than 100 sheep at the Rogane solar farm
More than 100 sheep and a few goats graze twice a week at the Rogane solar farm near the small town of Kamenica in eastern Kosovo, where more than 12,000 photovoltaic panels are installed.
The workers realized that mowing the fields was very difficult, so they asked me if I could bring my sheep,” said Rexhep Rrudhani, a 72-year-old shepherd, while ordering his sheepdogs to maneuver the flock grazing under the signs. “The sheep eat all kinds of grass here, good and bad, and they clean everything. We all benefit.”
Eliminating coal by 2050 in Kosovo
Kosovo has between 12 and 14 billion tons of proven reserves of low-grade lignite, the fifth largest in the world. More than 90% of its electricity is produced from coal and the rest comes from renewable energy, mainly wind and solar. The country aims to eliminate coal by 2050.
“We don’t spend fuel using lawnmowers,” said Arber Maliqi, manager of the solar plant. “Generating electricity from the sun and mowing the grass with sheep means things are going green twice here.”
