Bluffton, Georgia: Livestock producer White Oak Pastures and solar power generator Silicon Ranch Corporation announced a partnership January 15 to combine livestock grazing, using regenerative land management practices, with nearly 2,400 acres worth of solar farm in Southwest Georgia to create carbon sinks, restore biodiversity and soil health while generating electric power.
Credit: Trent Hendricks, Cabriejo Ranch
White Oak Pastures found that their ‘radically traditional farming’ practices have sequestered more carbon than grass-fed cows emit in their lifetimes, and concluded that the results are repeatable. Through the use of planned livestock grazing, which moves animals daily and restricts grazing as a method for emulating how herds of ruminants behave in the wild, White Oak Pastures has increased organic matter in their soil from 0.5% to over 5%. That would be equivalent to approximately 919 tons of CO2 taken out of the atmosphere per year.
Silicon Ranch notes that solar power panels are projected to occupy over six million acres of land globally by 2030 and the solar industry will be responsible for the stewardship of this land. In recognition of this responsibility, in 2018 the company established Regenerative Energy™, a holistic approach to the design, construction, and operation of solar farms that pairs regenerative agriculture with solar power generation and “can set a new standard of excellence for the industry.” Under this outcome-driven model, Silicon Ranch is partnering with White Oak Pastures and employing their flock of sheep and holistic grazing methods to manage vegetation, remove carbon and other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and store them long-term in the soil, restore overall ecosystem function, and strengthen the rural economy.
“There are no losers in this deal,” said White Oak Pastures’ owner Will Harris. “The Silicon Ranch land will remain pastoral. Our rural community gets much-needed jobs, and a new non-polluting industry to be proud of. We will sequester even more soil carbon and create a record of the ecological impact for others to repeat. Consumers can participate by purchasing the pasture-raised meats that were grazed at Silicon Ranch on our website.”
One issue that remains to be solved nationwide is how to minimize agricultural tillage, which releases stored soil carbon back into the atmosphere. This is not a problem at Silicon Ranch properties, where the above-ground infrastructure and solar panels, which have at least a 40-year useful life, prevent tillage and the related release of carbon stored in the soils.
Established by Silicon Ranch Corporation in 2018, Regenerative Energy™ sees itself delivering clean energy, ecosystem restoration, carbon sequestration, and rural economic resilience.