Two cranberry farming operations in Massachusetts have resumed production after being shut down for years due to financial pressures. The Black Cat Agrivoltaics Project in Plymouth and the Ring Road Agrivoltaics Project in Kingston represent a new application of agrivoltaic technology—the practice of combining solar energy generation with active agricultural production on the same land.
The bogs, managed by farmer Iain Ward, had become economically unviable under traditional cranberry farming alone. The addition of solar infrastructure has provided a new revenue stream through land leasing agreements, allowing the operations to become profitable again while continuing cranberry cultivation. Ward receives compensation for both agricultural management and crop sales, diversifying income sources for the farming enterprise.
The projects were developed by Greenbacker Renewables and installed by Distributed Energy Infrastructure (DEI), a utility-scale solar and storage provider. The implementation required careful coordination to preserve the sensitive wetland environment while constructing and operating solar facilities. DEI executives noted that farmer collaboration throughout the design and construction phases was essential to maintain both project reliability and agricultural productivity on the heritage bogs.
Cranberry farming is concentrated in northern U.S. states, with Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and New Jersey leading production, followed by Oregon and Washington. The success of these Massachusetts projects has positioned agrivoltaics as a potential solution for struggling agricultural operations in challenging environments. Both initiatives were finalists for the North American Agrivoltaics Awards, and the organizations involved are founding members of the Solar & Farming Association, an industry coalition representing developers, agricultural producers, and related stakeholders.
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