FirstEnergy Corp. subsidiary Mon Power has brought sheep in to maintain vegetation at the solar site adjacent to the coal-powered Fort Martin Power Station in Maidsville, West Virginia.
The 18.9-MW solar array with the coal plant to the right. Credit: FirstEnergy
“We’re managing this site with an innovative approach that blends renewable energy and agriculture for the benefit of our community,” said Dan Rossero, VP of FirstEnergy’s West Virginia Generation. “Solar grazing allows us to keep the site operating efficiently while supporting local farmers and reducing our environmental footprint. By partnering with sheep farmers and advancing solar power, we’re making a positive impact that extends well beyond the fence line.”
At the Fort Martin solar site, which went into service in early 2024, Mon Power contracted with Sivic LLC, a solar grazing company headed by Nate Dean and Luci Mosesso, farmers based in Pocahontas County.
Approximately 350 sheep grazed at the site through the fall. Sivic moved the sheep around the property every four-to-six days, using temporary fencing to ensure that vegetation was trimmed consistently throughout the property. With the vegetation growth now slowing, the sheep will spend the winter at their farm in Pocahontas County and return to the solar site in the spring.
“It’s a regenerative way to manage vegetation on a site that’s already regenerative itself as a renewable energy source,” Dean said.
The 18.9-MW Fort Martin solar site was the first of three sites developed as part of Mon Power and Potomac Edison’s solar program, which involves development of solar projects on brownfield or impacted industrial properties. With two additional sites in Marion County and Berkeley County, the companies have 30 MW of solar capacity.
Through the solar program, Mon Power and Potomac Edison customers in West Virginia who support renewable energy can purchase solar renewable energy credits (SRECs) – certificates that represent the environmental attributes of solar power and prove solar energy was generated on the purchasers’ behalf.
