- The community agrivoltaic vineyard is the idea of a group of entrepreneurs to produce wine and, at the same time, renewable energy.
- The vines are grown under a photovoltaic system which protects the plants from extreme events, increasing yields and making the most of natural resources.
- According to the project’s proponents, the land is used doubly, generating environmental, economic and social benefits.
Inaugurated in Pugliain Gioia del Colle, at the end of 2023 and the result of 15 years of research and experiments, the community agrivoltaic vineyard is a project that, for the first time, combines the production of organic wine with that of clean and renewable energy with agronomic advantages , economic and social.
The birth of the first community agrivoltaic vineyard in Puglia
The idea comes from some members (Nicola Mele and Emilio Roggero among all) who in 2008 decided to invest in the production of renewable energy from photovoltaic by installing a system to 1 megawatt on 6 hectares of land: “The first challenge of this investment was precisely to avoid using the land solely for energy production,” explains the agricultural entrepreneur Donato Giorgio. “So the intuition was to raise the voltage park on a pergola, to a height of just over 2 metres, with the intention, one day, of growing something underneath”.
The installation of the voltage park ended in 2010 and, in collaboration with the universities of Verona and Bari and with the Basile Caramia agricultural research, experimentation and training center in Locorotondo, the experimentation of various crops under panel which will lead to the achievement of excellent results for some vines. Among all Falanghina, Traminer and Primitivo di Gioia del Colle.
Solar panels become pergolas for vines: the productive and environmental benefits
“The rows of vines are made up of the poles that support the panels. On 4 and a half hectares of plot the plants are shaded by the panels, while on approximately another hectare they are uncovered. In this way we are able to have a direct comparison on the effects of agrivoltaics. First, the panels physically protect the plants from excessive heat and radiation and from extreme events such as hailstorms. Furthermore, under the photovoltaic panels a microclimate is created which keeps the soil more humid, less in need of water, and which avoids water stress for the plants in a drought area like ours, that of the Murgia. The vine is less exposed to diseases, thus avoiding the use of chemical substances and favoring organic production”.
Giorgio continues: “The yield of the vine is 500 g of grapes for plants exposed to the sun, while it becomes 4 kilos of grapes for plants under the panel. Furthermore, thanks to the partial shade of the agrivoltaic pergola, the latter develop a slower phenolic maturation, giving more acidic, less sugary and alcoholic wines. We managed to produce Traminer, a characteristic vine of the north, while the agrivoltaic Primitivo di Gioia del Colle surprises with very different characteristics from that traditionally produced from plants under the sun”.
The agrivoltaic system is equipped with sensors who monitor the condition of the leavesLsoil moisture and the wind variations to allow targeted interventions, as well as a rainwater recovery system which are then used for irrigation.
The economic and social benefits of the project
In addition to the production and resource use advantages, agrivoltaics also brings economic benefits: “In agriculture there is no certainty of profit because production is subject to the climate, while the production of renewable energy for the agricultural company becomes the only certain source of income that allows the development of more stable agronomic business plans” .
The project does not lack thesocial aspect: “We started as five and now we are more than 40 members, agricultural and non-agricultural entrepreneurs, including the people and companies of our Happy network which incubated the community agrivoltaic vineyard project. The objective is to bring together all the forces of the community to increase the ability to seize opportunities such as the funds from the agrivoltaic decree and to bring value to the territory”, explains Giorgio.
Land occupation? “No, land used twice”
If it is true that for some agrivoltaics is a controversial system considering the occupation of land, Giorgio replies: “We can say that the poles occupy less than 5 percent of the land and that in our vision the land is not occupied, but used doubly. We think that when agrivoltaics is stitched around valuable agronomic projects, it only brings benefits.”
In the pipeline now is the construction, again in Puglia, of a 5 megawatt voltage park on 9 hectares of vineyards to get the production of the vines up to speed and to be able to place the on the market first agrivoltaic wine in 2026 through the e-commerce I prodotti della svolta, which sells products from sustainable agriculture.
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