Volkswagen "hired" A Flock Of Sheep For Its Factory
- 9.11.2026, 15:13
The company came up with an unexpected position for them.
At the Volkswagen plant in Wrzeszno, Poland, a flock of 100 sheep tends to the grounds of a 27-hectare solar power plant. The animals replace lawn mowers by grazing on the grass beneath the solar panels.
This was reported by the publication Jurnalul.
The sheep arrived at the plant in late April and will remain there until fall. They are being cared for by a local farmer. All the animals belong to the “Wielkopolska” breed, which originates from this region and is part of a genetic resource conservation program.
This approach is called agrivoltaic grazing. It allows a single area to be used simultaneously for electricity generation and livestock grazing. As a result, there is no need to constantly mow the grass with specialized equipment.
The Volkswagen Solar Park consists of more than 31,000 panels with a total installed capacity of 18.3 MW. On sunny days, the power plant can fully supply the factory with electricity, and over the course of a year, it covers approximately a quarter of its energy needs.
At the same time, researchers from the Poznań University of Life Sciences are observing how being under the solar panels affects the animals. They are studying the animals’ condition, the quality of the pastures, the soil, and the microclimate on the power plant’s grounds.
Volkswagen has not disclosed how much money is saved through this method of land management. Furthermore, grazing sheep does not directly contribute to increasing electricity production.
The plant in Wrzeszno opened on October 24, 2016. It is the only facility in the world where Volkswagen Crafter and MAN TGE vans are assembled. In June 2026, the plant produced its 600,000th vehicle—a Grand California camper van based on the Crafter.
In 2025, production exceeded 100,000 vehicles. On average, the plant produced one vehicle every 163 seconds. More than 3,000 people work at the plant, and production processes are also supported by robots, autonomous transport systems, and artificial intelligence technologies for quality control.
Volkswagen is currently expanding the plant’s production capacity. The company is building two new production halls with a total area of approximately 60,000 square meters. One of them is intended for the production of the lower body section of the future all-electric Crafter, while the other is for battery storage.
Construction is scheduled to be completed in the second half of 2027. The release date for the electric version of the Crafter has not yet been announced.