WVU researcher describes trials of virtual fencing and grazing under solar arrays

Jerry Yates of West Virginia University told the board his team is testing livestock grazing under solar panels and experimenting with GPS-based "virtual fencing" collars that emit tones and corrective pulses to keep animals within virtual boundaries. "The cattle rear collar, it's got GPS in it, and so we can we program boundaries, virtually," Yates said; he described graduated tones that increase as an animal approaches the boundary and a corrective pulse if it breaches the limit.

Yates said the university received Department of Energy funding for trials and plans to compare animal performance under lower, utility-scale panels and elevated racks. He acknowledged there is limited cattle-specific data so far and stressed the need for local trials to evaluate animal health, soil impacts and micro‑biome changes. The researcher and the developer suggested sheep grazing as an immediately feasible approach and said a successful pilot could inform design choices on future solar sites.

Board members and residents asked about animal welfare, goat suitability and management of escapes; WVU staff answered that animals typically learn the collars within a day or two but emphasized continued monitoring and research before any broad policy endorsement in Hardy County.