A new agrivoltaics pilot is bringing solar panels to 16 working farms across New Jersey.
Rutgers had already tested agrivoltaics at research farms in the state prior to this pilot.
Each farm produces something different. Some produce soybeans, grains, and hay, while others grow tomatoes, African peas, okra, fruits, vegetables, or raise livestock.
The program selected these farms through the first application call of New Jersey’s Dual-Use Pilot Agrivoltaics Program. Its goal is to determine whether farmland can continue producing crops while generating solar power.
It establishes a statewide test across numerous crop varieties and different farming operations.
What works on one farm may not work on another
Agrivoltaics, or dual-use solar, puts solar panels on top of or alongside actively operated agricultural lands rather than taking land out of production.
The concept is relatively simple. Determining whether it will work equally well with different types of crops and agricultural activities is the challenge. That is why the approved projects vary widely from one another.
Approved projects are located in Atlantic County, Cumberland County, Gloucester County, Hunterdon County, Mercer County, Monmouth County, Salem County, and Warren County. The projects span a wide range of crops, farm layouts, and growing conditions.
Instead of looking at the success of a single crop, the program provides numerous real-world testing scenarios. That diversity may become one of the pilot’s most valuable features.
A system that works for soybeans may not produce the same results for nursery trees. Meanwhile, a layout that fits a hay operation may be less desirable for vegetables.
The same land may not have to choose between food and power
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities officially awarded 16 projects totaling 52.06 MW of solar generating capability. The land has to remain actively engaged in agricultural or horticultural production.
New Jersey developed the pilot program through legislation, and it is being administered jointly with the NJ Department of Agriculture, NJ Department of Environmental Protection, State Agriculture Development Committee, and Rutgers University’s Agrivoltaics Program. More information about the pilot is available from New Jersey Government.
Can the same piece of land produce both food and electricity?
Instead of making assumptions, the pilot will collect data to inform future decisions.
Only projects located on unpreserved farmland currently being used for agriculture qualify. A team participating in this pilot must include a landowner, a farmer, and a solar developer. Farmers must participate in the development and operational planning of each project.
This way, farms will not become just “normal” solar sites with agriculture added as an afterthought.
Additional details about eligibility requirements and program design are available through New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program.
A handful of farms could influence future solar policy
Those are the first steps towards establishing a bigger program based on those pilot projects. At most, the pilot could support 200 MW of solar power for three years.
The pilot’s ultimate goal extends far beyond the farms selected for the first round.
Results from different crops and farming operations will be compared throughout the pilot.
Officials will be watching for patterns that emerge across different growing conditions and farm layouts.
Future policies regarding agrivoltaics will be influenced by how well policymakers are able to learn from the experience and results of the pilot. What they learn may eventually help create a long-term framework for agrivoltaics.
In addition to growing crops, the farms involved with the pilot will provide evidence for policymakers and stakeholders. That evidence may help determine whether there needs to be a trade-off between food production and electricity generation when both share the same land.
We will know whether or not a field can produce both electricity and crops within the next several growing seasons.
Read the whole thing?
Get the week's signal, not the noise
Our sharpest reporting on energy, climate and nature — free, once a week.
