Background:
Photovoltaic (PV) technology is scaling rapidly in Ireland and internationally; however solar developments require significant areas of land, creating potential competition between food production and renewable energy generation. Agrivoltaics, which integrates agricultural production with PV-based electricity generation, offers a promising solution by maximising land use efficiency while contributing to decarbonisation and food security. Sheep grazing is particularly well suited to PV systems as sheep can graze beneath the panels without impacting on PV panel efficiency. However, significant knowledge gaps exist regarding the integration of sheep grazing within utility-scale PV systems. OviVoltaics aims to address these knowledge gaps before the widescale development of solar PV in Ireland.
Project Objectives:
Through the establishment of a large-scale farmlet study involving sheep grazing a paddock system both with and without solar panels the successful candidate will assess:
- The presence of solar PV panels on forage production and quality.
- Botanical composition, ground cover and persistency of grass and clover species in an agrivoltaics production system.
- Sheep performance in terms of reproductive efficiency, liveweight gain and body condition score.
- Sheep health including parasite burden, lameness and dagginess.
- Sheep behaviour and welfare in terms of grazing, lying and ruminating behaviour.
This is an exciting opportunity to join a highly motivated, internationally recognised, team of researchers under the primary supervision of Prof. Sean Fair and Associate Prof. Nikki Walshe (University of Limerick), as well as Dr. Cornelia Callanan (Technological University of the Shannon).
Award:
The stipend of €31,000 per annum includes university fees and is tenable for 4 years.
Candidate Attributes:
Candidates should have a BSc (Second class honours or higher) in Agricultural Science, Animal/Grassland Science, or equivalent. An MSc in a related area is desirable. A full clean driving licence, the ability to drive on Irish roads and access to your own car are essential due to the requirement to conduct field work.
Application Procedure:
Interested candidates should submit a single PDF document containing (i) a Curriculum Vitae (maximum two pages) including education and level achieved, relevant work experience and the names and contact details of 2 referees, (ii) a cover letter detailing suitability to the position and career ambitions and (iii) copies of academic transcripts. Applications should be emailed to jane.shackleton@ul.ie with the subject line ‘Application for a PhD’. The closing date for applications is 5 pm on July 24th 2026. Only candidates selected for interview will be contacted and will be notified by August 7th 2026.
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