HADLEY — Freshly picked ears of sweet corn, taken off corn stalks growing below solar panels in a North Hadley field, are placed in a container and ready to be boiled, with the water heated by power produced by the same photovoltaic arrays.
At Joe Czajowski Farm, the corn yields from the field below the agrivoltaics are about 80% of what comes from the corn stalks in the nearby open conventional fields, but even though the corn quantity is a bit lower, the ears have the same quality, he said.
“It’s worked really well for us,” Czajkowski said of the agrivoltaics. “You shouldn’t have to work too hard to convince people it’s a good thing.”
In fourth year of operation, and with broccoli, lettuce and cilantro among previous crops grown below the panels, Czajkowski said he is ready to embark on putting Hadley’s best known crop, asparagus, in the field, which he believes may do better with the shade provided by the panels.
“Hadley asparagus has a little bit of panache to it,” Czajkowski said.
Jake Marley, who owns Hyperion Systems in Belchertown and developed the agrivoltaics, was on hand for an event last Wednesday to showcase the solar panels, along with representatives of the state’s Department of Agricultural Resources and American Farmland Trust, and other farmers.
The event served as a strategy session on how to bring more such projects to the region to ensure that farmers can continue to provide food, while also creating space for renewable energy. In addition to seeing the agrivoltaics, Marley said he wanted people to enjoy a “harvest meal.”
“To have sweet corn growing under this is exceeding my wildest expectations,” Marley said.
The 2.2-acre site produces 445 kilowatts of direct current through 832 panels at 535 watts per panel. That’s enough to power about 30 homes. The panels are separated by 26 feet, providing sufficient space for the crops. There are 28 diferent tracker motors to help the panels, each 10 feet high, follow the sun throughout the day, capturing more of the energy.
Czajkowski said there’s definitely a place for “ag-solar.” “No one’s really upset about anything,” he said. “It makes farms more viable.”
Marley said the benefits include lease payments, about $15,000 in personal property taxes for the town, a 15% cut in electric bills, and the chance to sell crops grown below the solar panels.
Additionally, Czajkowski has hooked up an electric van, powered by the same solar panels, where he is able to transport produce to the University of Massachusetts and its top-ranked campus dining operation.
“There are so many community benefits, I think,” Marley said.
This comes as farmers look for ways to reduce their costs and improve their narrow margins.
One of those who attended the event was Sidney Chang of Chang Farms in Whately, who said that he spends $15,000 to $18,000 a month in electricity costs to power the indoor facility where the farm’s famed bean sprouts are grown year round. Moving forward with a project of similar size will provide the power for the existing plant.
“This will make us more competitive, and producing your own power on your own land is a great idea,” Chang said.
Chang’s agrivoltaics will be on land in Whately, about 1,000 feet from the road, with the panels on land leased to other farmers in the region, who will be growing strawberries and asparagus.
State Rep. Homar Gómez, D-Easthampton, who represents Hadley and other farms in his district, said as a member of the state Agricultural Committee he supports creating more space for farms, and making it easier for them to do such solar projects.
The state’s Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target program offers additional financial incentives, though solar is becoming more challenging at the federal level.
For those who worry about the impact on farmland, Sarah Matthews, an Amherst attorney with the Klavens Law Group, P.C. who specializes in sustainability, said that MDAR must approve such projects, and that all similar installations are highly regulated.
Doug Finn, the western Massachusetts regional coordinator of the Department of Energy Resource’s Clean Energy Siting and Permitting Division, said that people need to know that just because solar panels are put in fields, they are not taking away from growing food or raising animals, and that streamlining permitting is sensible.
Dwayne Breger, director of Clean Energy Extension at UMass, completed a study that has examined how agrivoltaics affect the land. This study shows they can create a mini climate, changing the temperature nearby, and may impact farmer behavior with different crops and adjusted ways of harvesting.
Still, the food produced, like the corn at Czajkowski’s, is on par with the control area, Breger said, even with the possibility of some degradation in quality and quantity of what is marketable.
