Sun’Agri, a pioneer and one of the globally leading companies in agricultural photovoltaics (Agri-PV), and RWE, one of the world’s major players in renewable energies, have entered into a strategic partnership to accelerate the development of Agri-PV in France through new projects that combine agricultural benefits and green electricity production. In particular, the partnership will operationally support the implementation of integrated solutions for growing fruit, vegetables and wine.
Cécile Magherini, Director of Sun’Agri: “I’m delighted to enter into this partnership with RWE, a company that is committed to Agri-PV. Together, we aim to create a strong synergy between agriculture and green electricity production. This collaboration is in perfect harmony with our CSR policy and we will intensify our impact by combining our expertise. I am looking forward to our teams getting down to work.”
Katja Wünschel, CEO RWE Renewables Europe & Australia: “All the scenarios to electrify our economy are converging towards a significant increase in the number of solar farms installed in France. RWE is committed to making a major contribution to growing this important source of energy. Strong cooperation with players in the agricultural sector will play an important part in forging ahead with the implementation of solar projects. Agri-PV is an integrated part of the RWE Group’s strategy in France, with solar power plants designed from the outset to meet the needs of the agriculture sector.”
Agri-PV protects agricultural crops from the effects of climate change by means of mobile solar panels placed above the crops, at a height high enough to allow the passage of farm machinery. These solar panels are controlled in real time by custom-designed algorithms to tilt according to the plant’s need for sunlight or shade, and to limit losses due to extreme weather events such as frost, hail, or scorching.
After 15 years of agricultural research, Sun’Agri’s patented technology has already been deployed on more than twenty farms in France, on many fruit, vegetable and grape varieties, in direct support of the farmer. Other projects are currently being rolled out internationally.
In this way, Sun’Agri is pursuing its mission to make its technology available to support agricultural transitions and adaptation strategies affected by climate change, in order to accelerate the deployment of Agri-PV in all regions and crops particularly affected by climate change.
RWE is the fourth-largest onshore wind and solar power producer in Europe and the United States, and employs more than 200 people in France, with local offices set up as close as possible to the areas in which the company operates. With the deployment of intelligent solutions dedicated to Agri-PV, RWE is reaffirming its ambition in solar energy to support the energy transition.