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At Bluewave, integrating solar technology with traditional farming practices is not just a concept, it is the new norm. Jesse Robertson-DuBois, Director of Sustainable Solar Development, shares his vision for how agrivoltaics is transforming the sector.
“Jesse Robertson-DuBois, director of sustainable development at Bluewave, tells pv magazine USA : “We have gone all in on agrivoltaics, it is now our default choice for land use for our solar installations.”
“The first thing we do in a project is ask ourselves how we can integrate agrivoltaics. Sometimes it turns out to be cropping, sometimes sheep grazing, sometimes cattle… and sometimes we don’t have a good food-related option, so we turn to pollinators,” Robertson-DuBois explained.
Solar agrivoltaic installations are beginning to live up to their promise. Despite organized public opposition to large solar plants, projects larger than 404.68 hectares are being successfully integrated into regional farming practices. Surveys indicate that public discontent tends to increase with solar installations larger than 100 MW, although even smaller installations of about 20 hectares, or approximately 10 MW, can also attract negative attention.
Robertson-DuBois has extensive experience in agriculture and farm policy. He owns a farm in western Massachusetts where his daughter herds sheep. A diversified farmer for most of his life, he recently shared his excitement about spending a weekend working with hay and vegetables on a farm near his home.
In the early stages of developing a new facility, Robertson-DuBois makes it a priority to establish a relationship of trust with the farmer. This mutual trust is crucial when dealing with the changing aspects of the project. A key part of their discussions is determining which pieces of farm equipment are essential to ongoing operations and which can be replaced or modified as the details of the project are finalized.
For example, on a project in Western Massachusetts, Bluewave opted to replace a tractor and hay machine rather than modify the entire assembly. The driveline for Array Technologies’ solar tracking system—similar to a vehicle’s driveshaft and marked in red in the image above—was initially positioned lower than those machines. Although it was already raised 10 feet off the ground to comply with Massachusetts agrivoltaic regulations, raising it even higher to accommodate the farm machinery would have quadrupled steel costs. This expense far exceeded the cost of replacing the machines.
Of the collection of five Massachusetts agrivoltaic projects for which Bluewave raised $91 million, one is fully operational from both an agricultural and solar power generation standpoint, on the site of cattle grazing, showing minimal impact on the animals. “They started grazing this spring, and grass growth and productivity are good. The cattle love the shade. They graze in one area, then move back under the modules, then move to the next grazing area,” Robertson-DuBois notes, before reminding us that the American Solar Grazing Association reports that more than 100,000 acres of solar installations graze a variety of animals.
State programs are increasingly supporting agrivoltaic plants. Massachusetts’ SMART program, launched in 2018, offers up to $0.06 per kilowatt-hour for agrivoltaic projects. Meanwhile, newcomers like New Jersey and New York are exploring their own initiatives. In particular, New York’s agrivoltaic pilot program focuses on more challenging agricultural opportunities. Unlike “standard” agrivoltaic technologies, such as sheep grazing or supporting pollinators, New York’s program incentivizes the integration of agrivoltaics with livestock, such as cows, and even cannabis cultivation.
Robertson-DuBois explained that in the Northeast, designing solar trackers to withstand heavy snow loads often results in a structure that is sturdy enough for cattle to scratch on. The key, she said, is to keep some of the less sturdy parts, such as wiring and combiner boxes, out of the animals reach.
Speaking about integrating solar energy into soybean farming, the second largest in the United States, Robertson-DuBois elaborated: “Soybeans have enormous potential. They are a bush crop, where the outer leaves of the plant are really there to protect the inner leaves. Soybeans have what is called a long photoresponse period – when exposed to too much light, the stomata close, shutting down photosynthesis. So the soybean sits there saying, ‘I don’t know if I’m ready yet. ’ At Bluewave, we have funded research to reduce this photoresponse time and increase photosynthesis.”
Robertson-DuBois also highlighted the viability of other cereals such as wheat, barley and oats. While grain corn, which can easily exceed 3 metres in height, presents more difficulties, sweet corn, intended for human consumption, is considerably shorter at 2.5 metres and could be more suitable.
Robertson-DuBois says focusing on the farm and the needs of the farmer, as well as the impact on the local community, is crucial to getting projects off the ground. When installing solar on a century-old wild blueberry farm, Jesse and his team used construction techniques that preserved the existing vegetation.
At Bluewave’s Deighton, Massachusetts, facility, where livestock and vegetable farming are combined, Bluewave applied careful construction practices to protect the soil from compaction and preserve organic matter.
“Building trust with the community, understanding the farm and putting real projects on the ground, with real challenges solved, spanning tens of hectares is how Bluewave is moving forward in agrivoltaics,” Robertson-DuBois said. |
