One of the things many people still donโt realize is how much solar power and wind power help farmers to be more profitable or to become profitable. Agriculture has never been the easiest industry, but it has been getting especially challenging to make ends meet in some parts of the world and with some types of farming. Extra income from solar farms and wind farms can make all the difference.
๐ The Core Development
I donโt think Iโve ever learned anything about cranberry farming, but, apparently, they are grown in bogs in the northern parts of the US โ 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. We now have news of a couple of cranberry bogs in Massachusetts that were out of service because of financial collapse but have now been saved by solar.
โ Distributed Energy Infrastructure (DEI) , a leading EPC provider for utility-scale solar and storage projects, announces the harvest of two groundbreaking cranberry 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-ever agrivoltaic cranberry harvests โ a milestone for expanding agrivoltaic applications into challenging wetland environments,โ DEI shares .
๐ Background & Sector Context
โ The projects are owned by developer Greenbacker Renewables were installed by Distributed. Cranberry farmer Iain Ward, who manages the bogs, was closely involved throughout design and construction to ensure that the sensitive wetland environment remained intact. โ
โBuilding solar projects over active perennial wetland crops was an exciting challenge, and weโre thrilled to see the success of these harvests,โ says Prateek Tare, Executive Vice President and Co-founder of DEI. โIainโs collaboration and input at every stage was essential for us to ensure a reliable, cost-effective build while safeguarding the productivity of these heritage bogs.โ
๐ Industry & Real-World Impact
The Black Cat and Ring Road cranberry bogs had been out of service for years because they were no longer financially viable. However, the solar projects brought them back to life! โThe solar projects now provide the landowner with additional income through land leasing, making the bogsโ cultivation economically viable again. Iain Warde is paid for agricultural management, in addition to his income from selling the cranberry crops.โ
Benchmark Telemetry & EV Fuel Savings
Put top supercars and EVs to the test in The Pit Stop Lab โ launch head-to-head 1/4-mile drag strip battles & compute EPA electric fuel cost savings.
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๐ฎ Strategic Outlook & What Lies Ahead
โBoth projects were finalists for the North American Agrivoltaics Awards , and both Ward and DEI are founding members of the Solar & Farming Association (SAFA) . SAFA is a coalition of organizations representing the interests of the agrivoltaics industry, including developers, agricultural producers, livestock producers, and affiliated organizations.โ
Agrivoltaics wins again. Farming and solar power is one of the best combos weโve seen since someone decided to spread peanut butter and jelly together inside some slices of bread.
