Two cranberry bogs in Massachusetts that had become financially unviable have returned to cultivation with the help of agrivoltaic solar projects. The Black Cat project in Plymouth and the Ring Road project in Kingston combine solar generation with active cranberry farming in wetland environments.
Distributed Energy Infrastructure (DEI), which installed the projects, said they produced the first agrivoltaic cranberry harvests. The projects are owned by Greenbacker Renewables, while cranberry farmer Iain Ward manages the bogs and participated in the design and construction process to help protect the sensitive wetland areas.
The solar installations provide the landowner with additional income through land leasing, making cranberry cultivation economically viable again. Ward also receives payment for agricultural management, alongside revenue from selling the cranberry crop.
The Black Cat project has 1 megawatt of solar capacity and 2.7 megawatt-hours of battery storage. Ring Road has 4.4 megawatts of solar capacity and 13.5 megawatt-hours of storage.
DEI described building solar infrastructure over perennial wetland crops as a technical challenge and credited Ward’s involvement with helping preserve the bogs’ productivity. Both projects were finalists for the North American Agrivoltaics Awards. Ward and DEI are also founding members of the Solar & Farming Association, a coalition representing agrivoltaic developers, agricultural producers, livestock producers and affiliated organizations.
The projects illustrate how solar and wind developments can provide farmers with additional income while keeping agricultural land in production. Cranberries are grown in bogs, with Wisconsin, Massachusetts and New Jersey identified as the three largest producing states in the United States; Oregon and Washington also contribute to the market.
Sources: CleanTechnica.