Source: VeronaFiere Press Office
Towards the International Agriculture Exhibition. Online event Thursday 16 September (17:15)
With fieragricola di verona a journey into the world of agro-voltaics
A webinar on the advantages and opportunities of the new frontier of renewable energies
Verona, 14 September 2021. With 1.1 billion euros made available by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRP) to develop renewable energy production through agro-voltaics, a new phase
is opening up for multifunctionality in agriculture, capable of combining environmental sustainability, energy production and ecological transition.
Fieragricola, the international exhibition dedicated to agriculture scheduled at Veronafiere 26-29 January 2022, will turn the spotlight on the opportunities of combining
photovoltaics in agriculture with a webinar scheduled for Thursday 16 September (17:15) entitled “Agro-voltaics in Italy: what it is and what opportunities it offers the agricultural sector”.
Moderated by Leonardo Berlen, director of QualEnergia.it, speakers will include Michela Demofonti, coordinator of the Agro-Photovoltaic Italia Solare Working Group; Alessandra
Scognamiglio from the Photovoltaic and Smart Devices Division of the Renewable Energy Technologies Department and coordinator of the Sustainable Agro-Photovoltaic Task Force; and Giovanni
Simoni, founder of Kenergia spa.
The meeting aims to introduce the agro-voltaic (or agro-photovoltaic) sector, the environmental and economic sustainability of the initiatives, to illustrate regulations, operation,
advantages, criticalities and practical cases for an agro-voltaic that is a concrete contribution to the agricultural enterprise.
Agro-photovoltaics is a great opportunity for the country to combine the needs of decarbonisation and the preservation or restoration of agricultural and pastoral activities, – says
Michela Demofonti, coordinator of the Agro-Photovoltaic Italia Solare Working Group. – For the development of agro-photovoltaics, public interest and acceptance is essential, as is the
definition of a clear regulatory framework. In this sense, steps forward have been taken with the NRP and the Simplification Decree, but it is necessary to continue towards concrete actions to
simplify authorisation procedures and strengthen mechanisms to facilitate the bankability of projects.
After in-depth analysis of the 2021-2027 reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, on which agreement has been reached at European level and which will come into force starting 1 January 2023,
Fieragricola Verona continues with events dedicated to agricultural companies and professional operators and, with the webinar on Thursday 16 September, focuses the debate on another challenge for
the primary sector, called upon to respond to the major changes underway, from the need for greater food production and increased yields in the field to the reduction of emissions and environmental
impact, including containment of production costs and solutions capable of combating ongoing climate change.
Energy from renewable agricultural sources is a winning strategy for improving farm performance, exploiting circular economy solutions that can contain atmospheric pollutant emissions and reduce
the use of fossil fuels, while ensuring improved farm competitiveness.
The agrovoltaic plant is not a photovoltaic system built on agricultural land, – explains Giovanni Simoni, CEO of the Kenergia Group, – but an integrated and innovative project
designed, built and managed through an equal agreement between an agricultural operator and an electrical operator. It is a project of co-responsibility from which the production and profitability
of agriculture and the production of renewable energy within the framework of the PNIEC must benefit.
The challenge, – says Alessandra Scognamiglio of the Photovoltaic and Smart Devices Division of the Renewable Energy Technologies Department and coordinator of the Sustainable
Agri-Voltaic Task Force, – is to transform a technical issue into a complex cultural issue, with a transdisciplinary approach supported by the results of research on the best combinations of
crops and photovoltaic systems.
