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APOLLO BEACH, Fla. (FOX 13) - You might do a double take if you’re passing by the Big Bend Solar Farm on US 41 in Apollo Beach. Inside the fencing you might catch a glimpse of a sheep or two. Maybe a lot more.
Rather than mowing around the solar panels, TECO is leasing 100 adult Katahdin sheep to keep the grass and weeds in check.
You might call them TECO’s Eco Sheep. They are also a money saver.
“It is one-fourth the cost of traditional mowing to have these sheep roam these acres and keep the grass short for us,” said TECO spokeswoman Cherie Jacobs.
TECO also has sheep at two of its other solar farms, and plans to eventually have them on all ten.
They lease the sheep from A Plus Environmental Restoration out of De Soto County, which also rents the animals to Florida Power and Light and other energy companies around the state.
This is a special time of year, a time when TECO’s sheep population grows in leaps and bounds. It is lambing season.
The solar farms are not open to the public, but you can get a close up and personal look at the sheep and their babies on TECO’s "Lamb Cam” on their Facebook page.