Cranberry Bogs Were Unprofitable, Then Solar Saved The Day

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One of the things many people still don’t 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.

I don’t think I’ve ever learned anything about cranberry farming, but, apparently, they are grown in bogs in the northern parts of the 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. 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.

“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 — a milestone for expanding agrivoltaic applications into challenging wetland environments,” DEI shares.

“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.”

“Building solar projects over active perennial wetland crops was an exciting challenge, and we’re thrilled to see the success of these harvests,” 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 a reliable, cost-effective build while safeguarding the productivity of these heritage bogs.”

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! “The solar projects now provide the landowner with additional income through land leasing, making the bogs’ cultivation economically viable again. Iain Warde is paid for agricultural management, in addition to his income from selling the cranberry crops.”

To close, here are some details of the project:

Black Cat

• 1 megawatt (MW) of power capacity
• 2.7 MWh of battery energy storage

Ring Road

• 4.4 MW of power capacity
• 13.5 MWh of battery energy storage

“Both 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.”

Agrivoltaics wins again. Farming and solar power is one of the best combos we’ve seen since someone decided to spread peanut butter and jelly together inside some slices of bread.