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Italian winemaker Svolta Srl has deployed an agrivoltaic facility at its vineyard in Apulia, Italy. The PV array allowed the cultivation of vines that are normally not viable at this latitude.
Wine producer Svolta Srl has installed an agrivoltaic facility at its Vigna Agrivoltaica di Comunità vineyard in Laterza, in the Italian province of Taranto, in the sunny southern region of Apulia.
The 970 kW, south-oriented system features about 7,770 panels of various output capacities – 135 W, 125 W, and 100 W. The technology is an unspecified double junction thin film, for the most part. The modules are deployed at a tilt angle of 28 degrees.
The structure is made of components for viticulture in reinforced concrete that draws inspiration from the typical structure of the pergola vineyard. The company is producing two vines – the local Primitivo offering and Goldtraminer, which is a typical vine of the Dolomites in northern Italy and is normally not compatible with the latitudes of this region.
The company said the agrivoltaic system delayed the harvest compared to other farms in the area. Technical studies show it reduced exposure to extreme weather, cut environmental impact, lowered water consumption by up to 20%, and increased land yield by 20% to 60%.
Emilio Roggero from the Italian Sustainable Agrivoltaic Association (AIAS) added that the system helped the winemaker reverse a trend where hotter summers had shifted the harvest from early October to late September.
“The system determined a postponed harvest, reduced water stress and protected the grapes from other meteorological excesses,” he told pv magazine Italy. “We have multi-year measurements of the reduced water stress of vine plants under agrivoltaic shading made by Professor Maurizio Boselli of the University of Verona starting from the 2009-13 research in Valpolicella. Even in the most critical moments at midday, the leaves of the plants under panels are in substantially normal conditions even when those outside the panels in full sun are subjected to intense water stress.”
Prof. Giuseppe Ferrara and Prof. Andrea Mazzeo from the University of Bari confirmed these findings with further measurements. Roggero said that in 2022, the harvest occurred in early October, but in 2024, they harvested grapes three to four weeks later than nearby areas, for both grape varieties.
The agrivoltaic structure shields plants from excessive heat, radiation, and wind, reducing wind speed by half compared to open fields. Plants under the panels show better vegetative growth than those in full sun.
Roggero said that Primitivo grapes under the panels achieved good sugar levels and maintained acidity, unlike sun-exposed grapes, which had high sugar and low acidity with elevated pH.
“Partial shading slows down the progression of the sugar content and this year the value we desired of 21 degrees was reached in the last days of August while the grapes in full sun at the same time were already at 25 degrees, well beyond our objective,” he explained. “We detected a reduction of about 10% of the sugar content and an increase in acidity of about 25% of the grapes under agrivoltaic shading. Checks on the different acidities are underway with the University of Bari and the data are being processed.”
Grapes with the ideal sugar content and acidity enable the production of high-quality wines without the need for corrective oenological interventions, preserving the wines authenticity.
“Agrivoltaic red wines are distinguished by greater lightness and elegance and white wines by freshness given by excellent acidity. In the coming years, we could also propose sparkling wines with the classic method for which agrivoltaic white grapes are particularly suitable,” Roggero said. “For these characteristics, enhanced by refined oenological protocols, the agrivoltaic wines are proposed as high-quality wines and for the cultivation methods with very high sustainability, rare and in a certain way exclusive. The price of agrivoltaic wine is therefore placed in a range of wine shop wines on a par with the best productions in the sector.”
The Goldtraminer vine is characteristic of the Trentino region and the Verona area in northern Italy.
“This year we have obtained a new Traminer in processing with the right balance between sugar and alcohol content – 14% vol and acidity pH 3.45. The experiment is giving positively surprising results,” Roggero said. “The same Primitivo di Gioia del Colle grown in agrivoltaics shows elegance and a good level of acidity that recalls those of fine red wines from the north.” |
