RWE has started the construction of its first commercial scale Agri-PV plants. The 9.8 megawatt (MWac) Morcone and 9.3 MWac Acquafredda advanced Agri-PV projects are located in the province of Benevento in the Campania region. More than 32,500 solar modules will be installed here in total. Together the two projects will be able to supply more than 13.000 Italian households with green electricity. Commissioning is scheduled for the end of the year. Both projects were successful in the recent Italian Recovery and Resilience Plan auction.
The two Agri-PV projects will use elevated tracker systems: the solar modules are elevated on a three-metre high tracker structure with a movable axis. This will increase the energy yield of the PV systems. Crops will be harvested below the panels in a fully integrated energy-agri system, increasing agricultural production while optimising land use. The panels provide protection against hail, frost, drought and heavy rain. To help improve the technology the performance of the two advanced Agri-PV systems and meteorological and agricultural yield data will be monitored by RWE.
Katja Wünschel, CEO RWE Renewables Europe & Australia: “The start of construction marks the realisation of our world-first Agri-PV projects on a commercial scale, with more to come. Sunny Italy is also a perfect market for this technology. Advanced Agri-PV helps us to use the scarce resource of land responsibly and efficiently, generating two different yields - agriculture and renewable energy - from the same land. Win-win at its best.”
RWE Renewables Italia – strong presence in Italian market for renewables
RWE is a key player in the Italian renewables market. The company takes an integrated project approach that incorporates the development, construction and operation as well as marketing of wind farms and solar plants. The company draws on its extensive experience to drive forward its business in Italy. As of today, RWE operates 16 onshore wind farms with a combined installed capacity of 527 MW in the country. With its onshore fleet, RWE supplies around 450,000 Italian households with green electricity every year. The company is currently constructing the 53 MW Mondonuovo wind farm in the Apulia region. In addition to wind and the Agri-PV projects, RWE is installing its first Italian solar plant Bosco (8.3 MWac) near Palermo, which is in the commissioning phase.
A graphic (credit: RWE) is available at the RWE Media Centre