Combining agriculture and energy production is a process that requires time and expertise. It begins with an understanding of the land, complemented by engineering skills necessary for developing photovoltaic systems. Agrivoltaics is not merely the sum of two income-generating methods; it seeks an optimal balance between two seemingly distant worlds. "It's essential to have the right skills for both sectors," say Claudio Campanella and Donato Giorgio from lavialibera, as they stroll alongside the rows covered by panels at the community agrivoltaic vineyard in Laterza.
In 2021, agrivoltaics was included among the investment items of the PNRR. The goal: to install systems with a total capacity of at least 1.04 GW and an indicative annual production of 1,300 GWh to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 0.8 million tons.
Claudio Campanella and Donato Giorgio are two members of the agrivoltaic vineyard community. The facility was launched between 2008 and 2011, during a period of liberalization of renewable energies in the Puglia region, especially in photovoltaics. Connection requests and a series of bureaucratic steps were necessary for the installation of solar panels . "The company Svolta – they recount to Lavialibera – decided not to use ground-mounted photovoltaics to avoid making fertile land unusable, opting instead for a solution that allows cultivation under the panels."
In Sardinia, the fate of agrivoltaics intertwines with the heated debate on renewables, of which the island, due to its land availability and natural exposure to sun and wind, could become one of the main hubs in Europe.
Read more at Lavialibera