Two Massachusetts cranberry bogs that had stopped being profitable are now producing berries again, with solar panels mounted high above the vines. The Black Cat project in Plymouth and the Ring Road project in Kingston combine cranberry farming with community solar and battery storage. Developer Distributed Energy Infrastructure says leasing the land for solar has made it financially viable to cultivate the long-idle bogs again.
Cranberry bogs have soft, peaty soil and established vines, so standard construction methods would damage them. The solar arrays are raised 10 feet off the ground, with more than 18 feet of clear space between rows, and panel angles are set to let sunlight reach the plants. Farmer Iain Ward helped design the layout and construction process, which used white protective mats instead of black ones to avoid overheating. The extra care doubled construction time to about eight months.
Greenbacker Renewables owns both sites. Black Cat pairs 1 megawatt of solar with 2.7 megawatt-hours of battery storage, while Ring Road has 4.4 megawatts of solar and a 13.5 megawatt-hour battery. The landowner receives lease income, and Ward is paid to manage the bogs in addition to selling the berries. DEI calls these the first-ever agrivoltaic cranberry harvests, with the first harvest dating to fall 2025.
The announcement does not include berry yields or a comparison with conventional cranberry farming. Those numbers would help other growers decide whether solar can keep their bogs in business.