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The start of an agrivoltaic journey on Sint Eustatius

This blog post has been written by Sara Stone, President of the Sint Eustatius Farmers Foundation (SEFF). This is a first in a series of blog posts about agrivoltaic farming on Statia.

Today marks a new beginning on our island of St. Eustatius. Standing beneath the gleaming panels at the STUCO Solar Park, I can’t help but feel both excitement and curiosity. We are about to see whether food and energy—two essentials of life—can truly share the same ground.

We’ve carved out 1,000 square meters of the park’s land, a humble start compared to the full 40,000 m², but full of possibility. Here, the St. Eustatius Farmers Foundation (SEFF) has brought together a small but mighty team of local farmers—men and women who know the soil, respect its history, and aren’t afraid to try something new.

Each farmer will use their own style—ancestral ground cropping, mulched rows, raised beds, hydroponic experiments. It’s like weaving a tapestry where every thread represents tradition, innovation, and personal creativity.

Beneath the panels, the shade is different. It’s cooler, gentler. The plants we place here will grow in conditions that protect them from the harsh midday sun. Maybe they’ll drink less water. Maybe their flavors will surprise us.

In time, I’ll introduce you to each of the farmers—their journeys, their dreams, their reasons for joining this experiment. Some hope to move from subsistence farming into commercial production. Others see this as a chance to pass knowledge to the next generation. All are united by one thing: belief in Statia’s capacity to grow.

This is more than a project. It’s a journey into the unknown—where science meets soil, and heritage meets hope. We don’t know all the answers yet, but we’re ready to learn together.

And so begins the story of agrovoltaics on Statia.

The Agrivoltaics Project on Sint Eustatius is funded by the European Union through the GO Programme, implemented by Expertise France.