New Jersey greenlights 16 agrivoltaics projects on local farms

New Jersey has approved 16 solar projects on working farms as part of a new pilot program, adding up to just over 52 megawatts of power. The projects use "agrivoltaics," which means putting solar panels above or among crops and grazing land instead of taking farmland out of production. The farms, spread across eight counties including Atlantic, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Monmouth, Salem and Warren, will grow soybeans, hay, grains, vegetables and fruit, or raise livestock, alongside the solar arrays.

The program comes from a 2021 state law and is run by New Jersey's utilities board along with the state's agriculture and environmental departments and Rutgers University. To qualify, land must already be actively farmed, and each project team has to include a landowner, a farmer and a solar company, with the farmer involved in planning and running the project. The pilot is capped at 200 megawatts over three years, with no single project larger than 10 megawatts. This first round drew far more interest than it could accept — 33 proposals totaling about 140 megawatts came in for a program that only awarded 52.

This is a New Jersey program, not a national one, and it applies to farmland rather than typical homes. If you live in New Jersey and own farmland, or know someone who does, this could be worth a look as a way to combine crops or livestock with solar income. For most homeowners elsewhere, this is mainly a sign that other states may roll out similar dual-use solar programs as this pilot proves itself out.