New Brunswick's first and only solar farm is expanding

Dairy farmer Frank Jopp is adding more sunshine to his bovine farming operation.

Frank Jopp is expanding his solar farm to about 400 panels

Shane Fowler · CBC News · Posted: Apr 01, 2018 10:14 AM EDT | Last Updated: April 2, 2018

Frank Jopp calls himself a 'sun farmer' and is preparing to expand his solar farm from 15 towers of solar panels to 25. (Shane Fowler/CBC News)

New Brunswick's only solar farm is getting ready to expand.

Dairy farmer Frank Jopp is splitting some of his fields between his Holstein herd and his solar panels as he divides his farming operation between bovine and sunshine.

"I'm a sun farmer," said Jopp of Auenland Farm in Mount Pisgah, just outside of Sussex. "I like sunny days."

After spending 35 years focusing on his dairy herd, Jopp flipped the switch on his solar farm in late December. Now, he's ready to enter the next phase of his plan to have the biggest solar farm in the province.

Already the largest in the province, the Auenland Farm solar farm near Sussex is getting ready to expand. (Shane Fowler/CBC)

"The largest, the first and the only," said Jopp. "But we are very small, really. We only produce enough solar power for eight homes, or I produce a little bit more than what I need on my farm."

Still, the 15 towers, each sporting 16 solar panels, are enough to give Jopp the title of largest solar farm in the province. Next week, he'll start to add an additional 10 towers sporting 16 panels apiece.

Mark McAloon, the founder and president of NexGen Energy, a renewable energy developer that has been installing the equipment on Jopp's farm, said there will be 400 solar panels installed once the expansion is done.

Jobb said he sells every bit of energy he harvests to NB Power. Depending on how the coming months go after the expansion, he said he may consider quadrupling his solar herd.

Hurdles to overcome

McAloon said while solar technology isn't new, there are still some hurdles to getting solar projects up and running in New Brunswick.

"It's new for every level of government," he said. "Whether it's the municipality, the provincial electrical inspection authorities, or boots-on-the-ground-technicians that are doing the wiring to the poles. It's just so new."

The solar farm sits in the fields behind the Auenland Farm dairy barn. Owner Frank Jopp says there is plenty of land to expand again in the years to come. (Shane Fowler/CBC News)

McAloon said once projects like Jopp's solar farm become more common in New Brunswick, government agencies and inspectors will become more accustomed to their requirements and the projects will be easier to set up.

"At the end of the day, everybody wants to see these projects develop and wants to see them done," said McAloon.

That includes Jopp, who said he strongly believes in the future of solar technology and would be happy to relinquish the title New Brunswick's largest solar farm.

"I hope in six months that will change," said Jopp.