Distributed Energy Infrastructure (DEI), a solar and storage EPC firm, has joined the board of the Solar and Farming Association (SAFA) as a founding member, becoming part of the association’s initial cohort of companies. SAFA is focused on promoting farmer-centered dual-use solar projects as a way to strengthen rural energy resilience while creating reliable, long-term income streams for farms.
Farmer-Centered Approach Drives Dual-Use Solar
SAFA’s core premise is that farmers entrust solar developers not only with their land, but also with their operations and livelihoods. The association works to ensure solar-plus-farming, or agrivoltaics, is designed around farmers’ practical needs. Dual-use solar enables diversified revenue while keeping agricultural land in production, helping stabilize farm operations during volatile commodity markets. These projects also generate steady tax revenue for local governments, reinforce rural economies, and operate as quiet, low impact neighbors within agricultural communities.
As a founding board member, DEI contributes direct experience working alongside farmers, managing construction on sensitive agricultural land, and addressing soil protection through project design and execution.
Dual-use solar + farming only works if farmers are true partners in the process. That means allowing farmers to control what happens to their land, designing projects that protect soil, and creating reliable additional income that allows families to keep farming. SAFA is helping bring that conversation to the forefront.
Cranberry Bog Projects Show Field-Level Execution
DEI’s commitment to farmer-centered solar is grounded in project delivery. The company’s Black Cat and Ring Road installations are located above cranberry bogs that had remained uncultivated until construction began in 2023. DEI worked closely with Iain Ward, the landowner and a SAFA member, to revitalize and safeguard the sensitive bog environment before, during, and after construction.
That collaborative approach translated into tangible agricultural outcomes. In 2025, the cranberry bogs recorded their first successful harvest in many years.
Reflecting on the process, Ward said DEI took time to understand the agricultural nuances of specialty crop production and integrated those requirements into construction planning. He noted that the team asked early questions about what was needed for his farming operations to remain viable, describing this farm-centered model as essential for solar-plus-farming projects nationwide and expressing support for SAFA’s advocacy efforts.
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From SAFA’s leadership perspective, DEI’s participation brings applied project experience into the association’s policy and practice agenda. “Distributed’s dedication to SAFA’s mission reflects a clear understanding that solar + farming must be done right, with a highly qualified EPC, to succeed,” said Lucy Bullock-Sieger, Chair of the Solar and Farming Association. She added that DEI’s project experience and farmer-first mindset will support SAFA’s work to advance thoughtful dual-use policies and practices across the country.
Policy Engagement Planned in Mid-Atlantic and Northeast
Looking ahead, DEI plans to support SAFA’s policy engagement at state and regional levels, with a particular focus on the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Through the association, the company aims to help advance policies that promote energy independence, rural energy resilience, and long-term economic stability for farming communities.
Sean Harrington said dual-use solar and farming represents one element within a wider set of tools to strengthen rural economies, underscoring the importance of collaboration among farmers, policymakers, and SAFA to ensure projects support both rural energy needs and the future of American agriculture.
Together, DEI’s board participation and SAFA’s farmer-centered mandate underscore a growing emphasis on aligning renewable energy development with agricultural continuity. By embedding farming priorities into project design and policy engagement, the collaboration aims to reinforce rural energy resilience while preserving productive farmland, positioning dual-use solar as a practical pathway for long-term farm viability and regional economic stability.