Energy company RWE has built its first commercial Agri-PV plants in Italy. One of the two installations is located in Morcone, in the Province of Benevento in Campania, in the south of the country. The generator has a capacity of 9.8 MW. RWE has built a second plant with a capacity of 9.3 MW in Acquafredda, just a few kilometres further south of Morcone.
Installers have mounted around 32,500 solar modules across the two agricultural sites, which will continue to be farmed. The modules sit on a three-metre-high tracker system with a movable axis, a design that increases energy yield while optimising land use. The elevated mounting also frees up more land for arable farming than conventional solar plants allow.
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Solar plant shields crops from excess sun
The solar plant provides shade for crops during the hot summer months, reducing the amount of light reaching the plants. They are exposed to less heat stress and can make better use of water, which improves their growth. The modules also protect the crops from other weather events such as hail, frost and heavy rain. The agricultural side of the projects is the responsibility of local farmers, who will select, cultivate and harvest suitable crops in consultation with the landowners. Planned crops include traditional species such as alfalfa, oats, field beans, rosemary and camomile, along with other medicinal herbs.
Further projects in the pipeline
For RWE, the combination of agriculture and photovoltaics is a perfect fit for sunny Italy, as Sopna Sury, CEO of RWE Renewables Europe & Australia, put it. “Advanced Agri-PV enables us to use scarce land resources responsibly and efficiently by generating two different yields from the same land – agriculture and renewable energy. I am thrilled that our world-first Agri-PV projects on a commercial scale are up and running,” said Sury.
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This will not be the last Agri-PV plant RWE brings online in Italy. The company has already begun installing a further 50,000 solar modules on similar systems. RWE's Agri-PV pipeline in Italy amounts to 38.2 MW of capacity. This includes a second Agri-PV plant that RWE is building in Acquafredda with a capacity of 11.7 MW, along with an installation in Cave, Calabria, with a capacity of 9 MW. Two further solar plants combining power generation with agricultural use are being built in Sicily. In Enna, RWE is building a system with a capacity of 9.5 MW, while a further generator with a capacity of 8 MW is being built in Carcitella. All of these plants are scheduled to enter operation in 2026.
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Scientific monitoring planned
The two now-completed installations will be scientifically monitored under a three-year programme, in partnership with the Department of Agricultural Sciences at the University of Naples Federico II (UNINA). The research team will observe the ecological and agronomic impact of the Agri-PV plants on soil, crops and the wider ecosystem.
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The scientists will carry out agrometeorological measurements and record soil health parameters relating to chemical and biological fertility. They will also analyse enzymatic activity, microbial diversity and mesofauna, and assess the ecophysiological status and yield of the crops as well as pollinator communities and natural vegetation. The company has stated that this monitoring programme forms part of RWE's commitment to achieve a net positive impact on biodiversity by 2030. (su)
