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One of the things that many people still don’t realize is the extent to which solar energy and wind energy help farmers become or become more profitable. Farming has never been the easiest industry, but it has become especially difficult to make ends meet in some parts of the world and with some types of farming. Additional income from solar and wind farms can make a difference.
I don’t think I’ve learned anything about growing blueberries, but apparently they are grown in swamps in the northern US: Wisconsin, Massachusetts and New Jersey are the three largest producers in the country, in that order, while Oregon and Washington also contribute to the market. Now we have news of a couple of cranberry bogs in Massachusetts that were out of commission due to the financial collapse but have now been saved by solar energy.
“Distributed Energy Infrastructure (DEI)a leading EPC provider for utility-scale solar and storage projects, announces the harvest of two innovative blueberry agrivoltaics projects: the Black Cat agrivoltaics project in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and the Ring Road agrivoltaics project in Kingston, Massachusetts. Together, these projects have produced the first agrivoltaic blueberry crops, a milestone in expanding agrivoltaic applications to challenging wetland environments,” shares DEI.
“The projects are property of the developer. Dollar Renewable Energy They were installed by Distributed. Blueberry grower Iain Ward, who manages the wetlands, was closely involved throughout the design and construction to ensure the sensitive wetland environment remained intact.“
“Building solar projects on active perennial wetland crops was an exciting challenge and we are delighted to see the success of these crops,” says Prateek Tare, executive vice president and co-founder of DEI. “Iain’s collaboration and input at every stage was essential for us to ensure reliable and cost-effective construction whilst safeguarding the productivity of these heritage wetlands.”
The Black Cat and Ring Road cranberry bogs had been out of service for years because they were no longer economically viable. However, solar projects brought them back to life! “The solar projects now provide the landowner with additional income through land leasing, making peat bog farming economically viable again. Iain Warde is paid for farm management in addition to income from the sale of the blueberry crops.”
To close, here are some details of the project:
black cat
- 1 megawatt (MW) of energy capacity
- 2.7 MWh of battery energy storage
Peripheral
- 4.4 MW power capacity
- 13.5 MWh of battery energy storage
“Both projects were finalists for the North American Agrivoltaics Awardsand both Ward and DEI are founding members of the Solar and Agricultural Association (SAFA). “SAFA is a coalition of organizations representing the interests of the agrivoltaic industry, including developers, agricultural producers, livestock producers and affiliated organizations.”
Agrivoltaics wins again. Farming and solar energy is one of the best combinations we’ve seen since someone decided to spread peanut butter and jelly on some slices of bread.
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