Solar Grazing at Cement Plant: TCC's Nature-based Solution

At the TCC Guangdong Yingde plant's solar farm, a unique group of "weeding employees" grazes daily, helping maintain the site while also improving soil health. This initiative creates new value by achieving a harmonious coexistence of nature and energy.

Would you believe it? There are hundreds of goats being raised right inside a cement plant! These special "weeding employees" have a daily task: to "eat grass" at TCC's Yingde plant in Mainland China. Their grazing prevents plants from growing too tall and obstructing the solar panels, which would otherwise reduce power generation efficiency.

In recent years, the Yingde plant has actively constructed an 8 MW solar energy system, complemented by a leading 43.2 MW/107.3 MWh energy storage system in Mainland China's cement industry, marking a significant step in its energy transition. Meanwhile, TCC also considered how to use Nature-based Solutions (NbS) to tackle the weeding tasks at large-scale solar sites and promote ecological balance. As a result, the Yingde plant abandoned fossil-fuel-powered lawnmowers and harmful chemical herbicides, opting instead to introduce a flock of goats for biological weeding. This has significantly reduced the use of chemical herbicides. Furthermore, this "Solar Grazing" not only provides the goats with a natural food source, but their manure also naturally becomes organic fertilizer, nourishing the land and enhancing soil fertility.

Solar Grazing at Cement Plant: TCC's Nature-based Solution

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Deepening Community Engagement: Addressing the Aging Livestock Industry

In September 2024, the TCC Yingde plant team further extended its "Solar Grazing" project to foster community well-being. By transitioning from internal goats farming to collaborating with local livestock farmers, the initiative demonstrates a potential solution for the aging workforce in the livestock industry, creating a sustainable symbiosis between green energy development, the environment, and the community.

The team invited Mr. Qi Chenggong, a 65-year-old shepherd with 40 years of experience in the area, and his wife to graze their flock at the cement plant. Mr. Qi originally raised goats at a farm 2 km from the Yingde plant, but like many shepherds, he faced the growing challenge of limited mobility with age, making grazing increasingly difficult and leading to lost goats. Mr. Qi enthusiastically noted that grazing goats beneath the solar panels provides them with a stable area to roam, preventing them from getting lost. 

 

Furthermore, the goats consume purely natural pasture, producing high-quality "green food." This not only resolves the challenges faced by shepherds in finding grazing land and coping with an aging workforce but also offers an innovative model for the transformation of traditional livestock farming, enhancing the resilience of local industries.

Amidst the challenges of climate change and land degradation, TCC is striving for sustainable development through innovative thinking and NbS. This approach allows sunlight, goats, land, solar energy, and energy storage to form a self-sustaining green cycle within the cement plant. This initiative also has the potential to revitalize the local community, restore the land, and achieve true symbiosis and mutual benefit.