The NC Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) is excited to offer tours of the new Agrivoltaics Training Site, which will provide insights into how solar grazing systems are developed, taught, and advanced. The Agrivoltaics Training Site broke ground in November 2025 and is located at NC State University’s Lake Wheeler Field Lab in Raleigh, NC.

This early-stage, demonstration-scale training site explores the integration of utility-scale solar tracking systems and sheep grazing on working land. The site continues to be developed through a university-industry partnership model between NCCETC, Nevados, and by NC State University’s Department of Animal Science Small Ruminant Unit.

Two tours will be offered on April 27, 2026, in advance of the State Energy Conference of North Carolina.

During these guided tours, participants will learn how the partners came together to develop the site and what is in store for the site as it continues to evolve. Joe Bollinger, Senior Director of EPC Partnerships at Nevados, will provide attendees with information about the solar technology and tracking systems in place. The Nevados TRACE™ All-Terrain Tracker uses single-axis tracking technology and is designed to perform on uneven terrain, reducing the need for site grading and expanding the available site locations developers can use to build new systems. Bollinger says, “When you scrape and grade, you don’t just change the site, you create hydrology and topsoil problems. The future of solar is rolling terrain.”

Dr. Andrew Weaver, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in the Department of Animal Science, will dive into solar grazing operations, focusing on how sheep grazing can function as vegetation management within a utility-scale solar site as well as increase domestic lamb production. Additionally, Dr. Weaver says pairing sheep with solar will provide economic benefits in rural areas, “Dual-use energy systems can strengthen rural economies instead of displacing them. In growing regions, agrivoltaics may be one of the few tools that keep working land from becoming permanent development.” Sheep will be on-site during the tours, giving attendees a chance to witness the sheep interact with and graze around the solar installation in real time.

NCCETC’s role in the partnership focuses on solar workforce development training, including courses on installation and design, operation and maintenance, and a course specifically on agrivoltaics. The Center has over three decades of experience providing professional education and technical training to create a well-informed, highly skilled workforce that will continue to advance the clean energy industry. Training Project Manager Brittany Santore says, “We’re here to educate and upskill the workforce needed for the energy demand that’s already here.”

Visit this page to sign up for the Agrivoltaics Training Site tours on April 27, 2026, being held at 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm. A small fee of $15 per person will be required to attend. The State Energy Conference of North Carolina will take place the following two days, on April 28 and 29, 2026. Learn more and discover other tour opportunities on the conference website.

In addition to the April tours, the Agrivoltaics Training Site will be in use for hands-on training on June 8, 2026, during NCCETC’s Agrivoltaics in Action: Enhancing Operations and Maintenance in Livestock-Integrated Solar Sites course. This one-day training will equip solar professionals with essential skills for navigating grazed solar sites, including working with electric fencing, guardian animals, and sheep-based vegetation management. Topics will include:

• Fenced In: How to navigate the electric fencing maze preventing you from doing your job
• Negotiating Obstacles & Landmines: Gates, equipment, guard dogs, and what you’ll step in
• Mowers with Minds of Their Own: The imperfect perfection of vegetation management with sheep
• The Sheep Advantage: Understanding sheep production and the value they add on your site
• Electrifying Communications: Practical tools and strategies for reporting and supporting grazing operations

This course will be led by Dr. Andrew Weaver, Dr. Scott Bowdrige (West Virginia University), and Dr. Camren Maierle (American Lamb Board). Those who are interested in attending both the Agrivoltaics in Action course and NCCETC’s Operations and Maintenance of PV Systems course are eligible to save $200 on registration.

Santore says, “Agrivoltaics is no longer a concept. It’s a deployment model that supports renewable energy, agricultural production, and local economies. The partnership at this site creates real career pathways – solar operators learning livestock realities, and grazers learning solar site operations.”

NCCETC looks forward to continuing the collaboration with Nevados and the Department of Animal Science to fulfill the long-term vision of teaching, demonstrating, and developing the future agrivoltaics workforce.