Currently a weak market for Concord grapes in New York and Pennsylvania has been recognized. More than 100 Concord grape growers along Lake Erie were informed in March by Refresco that the processor would no longer be purchasing their produce. Farmers in other states and countries have been using solar arrays and wind turbines and storage batteries on portions of their property to ensure financial stability during difficult economic times and growing periods.

Besides loss of buyers and poor markets, agriculture is also subjected to more extreme weather events. These include warmer late winters followed by freezes, which have been affecting growers throughout the Northeast.

Solar arrays, wind turbines and batteries storage facilities can be installed on small portions of acreage to provide a guaranteed income to farmers. The resulting lease payments are sometimes the difference between keeping a farm in production or giving it up to land developers.

Solar arrays produce much more electricity than ethanol corn and result in the grower receiving more dollars per acre. Agrovoltaics (see ACE NY Agrovoltaics report) is now making it possible to raise sheep among solar panels, and in many cases alternate crops. The land, being free from pesticides and herbicides use, can often replenish its natural fertility during the long-term lease period. Birds, bees and native wildflowers return to the area.

Newly constructed unsubsidized solar and land-based wind generators coupled with battery storage are now the least expensive forms of electricity globally according to the 2025 18th Edition of the Lazard Cost of Electricity+ Report. In 2025 90% of new energy sources installed worldwide were solar and wind arrays.

Bob Ciesielski is a member of the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter and is Energy Committee Co-Chair. He is from Buffalo.