Rutgers: Cows and a new innovation in solar energy
Thousands of people driving along Route 1 in New Brunswick will be enjoying a different, unique view -- cows grazing alongside solar panels. It’s part of a more than $7.4 million state-of-the-art agrivoltaics program, funded through the state and federal agencies, which focuses on combining agriculture and solar power generation simultaneously on the same land.
“Agrivoltaics is the next frontier of the clean energy transition! Rutgers, American Farmland Trust and other New Jersey stakeholders have been hard at work leading the agrivoltaics industry towards further research and commercial deployment that will benefit farmers, local food production, and clean energy goals simultaneously. On Thursday, October 10th, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities will provide an update on the dual-use pilot program rules. Lightstar is anxious to see this program opened and for the benefits of agrivoltaics to be accessed more widely in the Garden State. ”