On Rockport farm, blueberry grower, solar power developer seek common ground

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • July 4, 2021

They are coming a bit early this season, but lavender specks are beginning to color the low-bush blueberry fields here on a hillside off Route 17 in Rockport. But that’s not the biggest news. What has area farmers talking are the 10,608 solar-electric panels or modules that construction crews are installing on metal racks that traverse roughly 12 acres of south-sloping fields. This acreage is about to undergo a unique crop trial, to see how well sunshine can produce both energy and blueberries in the same space. This is Maine’s first commercial-scale dual-use or agrivoltaics project, terms of phrase that signify the combination of solar energy production and agriculture.