Green New England Apple Orchards

Solar panels at Green Mountain Orchards in Putney, Vermont, sit high in a field behind the retail barn. (Russell Steven Powell photo)
Solar panels at Green Mountain Orchards in Putney, Vermont, sit high in a field behind the retail barn. (Russell Steven Powell)

NEW ENGLAND’S APPLE ORCHARDS are the site of more and more solar and wind installations and other renewable energy systems. It is a huge investment, but seems like a good match, as most orchards have both ample opportunity (due to their wide expanses of open land) and need (energy is one of the farm’s major expenses). Many of the installations were partially funded with state and federal grants.

New Salem Preserves in New Salem, Massachusetts (Russell Steven Powell photo)
New Salem Preserves in New Salem, Massachusetts (Russell Steven Powell)
Apex Orchards, Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts (Russell Steven Powell photo)
Apex Orchards, Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts (Russell Steven Powell)

While no one is saying that slick banks of black solar panels or sleek, industrial windmills make great art, in most cases they are artfully placed on land unsuitable for cultivation, hidden from view, or both. These photographs are just a sample of some of the installations in the region.

Smolak Farms, North Andover, Massachusetts (Russell Steven Powell photo)
Smolak Farms, North Andover, Massachusetts (Russell Steven Powell)
Red Apple Farm, Phillipston, Massachusetts (Russell Steven Powell photo)
Red Apple Farm, Phillipston, Massachusetts (Russell Steven Powell)
Carlson Orchards, Harvard, Massachusetts (Russell Steven Powell photo)
Carlson Orchards, Harvard, Massachusetts (Russell Steven Powell)