Consumers Energy to use sheep for vegetation management [Video]

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Consumers Energy is now employing sheep to help maintain vegetation at their Western Michigan University Solar Garden as part of a new pilot program.

The program will use sheep to maintain the grass and other vegetation around the solar array on WMU’s campus in Kalamazoo.

“These grass-powered woolen mowers will help keep the vegetation trimmed around the solar site’s 3,900 solar panels and 8.5 acres of land,” Consumers Energy said in a release Monday.

The WMU Solar Garden was created with education in mind, as Consumers Energy and WMU partnered to install and maintain the solar array.

“This outstanding project is good for our region, our state and our residents,” said Dr. Houssam Toutanji, dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. “But it also provides an …