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EDF Renewables, SudExpé, and Cybeletech have signed a consortium agreement for the EVAPORE apple tree agrivoltaics demonstrator at the SudExpé site in Marsillargues, Hérault (34). Construction is set to begin this summer, with commissioning planned for the start of the 2024. Photovoltaic panels will be installed on apple trees to study the coexistence of fruit and electricity production from 2025 to 2027. The EVAPORE demonstrator, winner of the ADEME Sustainable Energy Research call for projects in September 2023, is an innovative collective initiative.
The EVAPORE demonstrator will consist of eight rows of panels spread over 2,000 m² at the SudExpé station, a professional experimentation and information hub for the Fruits & Vegetables sector in the Midi Mediterranean. These panels will be mounted on trackers to regulate shading in the orchard using real-time modeling of tree behavior. The alignment and spacing between the rows will allow agricultural machinery to pass through the site. Several apple varieties, including well-known ones like Pink Lady and Granny Smith, will be tested.
Sofiane Boukebbous, Development Director for the South-East and Overseas zone , said, “ For more than 5 years already, EDF Renewables has been investing in agrivoltaic research, today has three demonstrators in service and is developing around 70 energy projects. agrivoltaism in France, reconciling crucial issues of sustainable food and energy production. In line with its raison d’être of supporting territories in their energy transition, EDF Renewables develops agrivoltaic projects while respecting agricultural uses and their sustainability, based on a territorial approach, close dialogue with stakeholders of the agricultural world and scientific support . »
Philippe Cavalier, President of SudExpé , added, “ Agrivoltaism has experienced significant growth for several years with the arrival of new technologies such as mobile panels. For SudExpé, it is essential to acquire technical and economic references for the sector which will make it possible to qualify the degree of synergy between these two fruit and energy production systems. This is precisely what EVAPORE is doing. It is expected that the agrivoltaic structure will bring advantages, but also perhaps constraints to apple growing and EVAPORE will allow us to evaluate these elements in detail over the coming years at the service of our producers so that future projects are adapted at best to the specificities of apple growing. »
Christophe Shaw, Chairman and CEO of Cybeletech, noted, “For 12 years Cybeletech has been working on plant knowledge and its modeling. EVAPORE is a very concrete example of collaboration between stakeholders which makes it possible to implement these technologies for a double benefit: the production of renewable energy and the adaptation of apple growing in a context of climate change. It is the realization of the promise of an agriculture that is both productive and sustainable thanks to modeling and the “digital twin” of the plant. » |
