In Winchester, Virginia, Kunekune pigs are part of a vegetation management strategy at a solar project that is a partnership between Energy Support Services, DSD Renewables, and Katahdin Acres.

By releasing pigs into the electric farm, the project achieved effective vegetation control, significant cost savings and improved feed quality.

Kunekune pigs are particularly well suited to this task due to their natural foraging behavior, which helps maintain vegetation without damaging solar equipment. This method is cost-effective compared to traditional mechanical or chemical vegetation control, the agency said.

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Pigs released at solar farms. Photo: SC

The use of pigs improves soil quality and biodiversity. In addition, this approach is consistent with the project's sustainability goals, providing a natural and environmentally friendly solution for vegetation management.

Previously, SUNY Cortland, a university in the US, introduced a breed of miniature pigs to graze on a solar farm to test replacing a gasoline-powered lawn mower.

Kunekune, a native breed of pig to New Zealand, can clear the weeds that grow around solar panels. Since their name means “fat and round” in the local language, experts say the pigs are up to the task.

Caleb Scott, a pig supplier, said his company is one of the first to graze sheep commercially on a solar farm. Likewise, this will be the first pig herd to graze on a solar farm.

Kunekune pigs are well suited to solar farms. Larger cattle are too big, Scott said, while goats chew on wires and climb uncontrollably. Other pigs are destructive and dig up dirt.

SUNY Cortland's solar energy system uses 2,443 panels to produce 1,118 kW of electricity, making the campus 100% renewable.

(According to Swine)