Lightstar Renewables, a solar independent power producer, has launched Plains Road Agrivoltaics project that integrates use of solar energy with agricultural use on the DiMartino Farm in Montgomery, New York. This project showcases how farmers can simultaneously nourish and power New York, uniting essential clean energy generation with sustainable food production.
Since its inception, Plains Road Agrivoltaics has been designed as an agricultural project, assimilating solar installation with hay planting and harvest equipment. It will help DeMartino Farms to accommodate additional two acres of vegetable production that will provide ready-to-work access to prime farmland for a new entry farmer. The commencement of this new Agrivolatics project is expected to generate enough energy to power 466 homes annually, significantly boosting sustainability of the farm. Lucy Bullock-Sieger, Chief Strategy Officer at Lightstar has stated that the Agrivoltaics project reflects the industry’s potential when it prioritizes farmers’ needs and integrates agriculture with clean energy solutions.
Plains Road stands as a beacon of what is possible when we are committed to problem solving and centering farmers’ needs. There is so much more that we can do as an industry to listen to agricultural stewards and learn how growing food and powering homes can work in concert.
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Agricultural Energy Synergy
The launch of the agrivoltaics project also marks a critical shift in policy mindset concerning the innovative land use strategies. The Town of Montgomery is one of the first places in the State of New York to institute changes in bylaws allowing construction of agrivoltaics projects in order to maximize agricultural production. The highlights of legislated changes concerns specific height restrictions, setbacks, and lot coverage, which serves as a model for other towns aiming to integrate sustainable land utilization into their own policy framework.
The project is emerging as an expected benchmark for dual-use agrivoltaics, seamlessly blending agriculture with clean energy and setting a standard for balancing economic growth with environmental responsibility. The project aims to aligns with American Farmland Trust’s Smart Solar principles, embodying a vision for responsible solar development that prioritizes farmers, communities, and the environment.
Lightstar’s project is a prime example of the Smart Solar principles and reaffirms our commitment to fostering partnerships that benefit communities and protect our agricultural heritage,
Rising Global Trend of Agrivoltaics
The Montgomery project is the newest addition to growing trend of utilizing Agrivoltaics for diversifying approaches to institute sustainable development practices. In India, IIT alumnus Anand Jain has developed India’s largest agrivoltaic solar farm in Sagar district, Madhya Pradesh. The project has transformed 16 acres into a dual-purpose site that generates 25,000 units of solar power daily where crops like strawberries and lettuce are cultivated. This project highlights the growing global trend of agrivoltaics, combining farming with solar infrastructure boosting land productivity, water conservation, while supporting renewable energy goals as well as offering sustainable solution to climate and food security challenges.
In Tützpatz, Germany, a 93-hectare agrivoltaic farm has been developed by Vattenfall that generates 79 MW of solar power. Additionally, the project supports livestock grazing, poultry rearing, and crop cultivation, using elevated panels and wide spacing allow farm machinery access, while flower strips and hedgerows support biodiversity. As one of Europe’s largest agrivoltaic sites, it showcases how clean energy and regenerative agriculture can coexist at scale.
The Montgomery project highlights how agrivoltaics is no longer experimental but part of a growing global movement to make agriculture and energy co-exist. As countries seek climate-resilient solutions, such integrated models offer a path forward, balancing food production, and clean energy on the same land.