RWE was once again successful at the Italian Resilience and Recovery Plan (PNRR) auction, which awards a contract for difference tariff and up to 40% return on investment for advanced Agri-PV. After having won the tender for two projects in last year’s PNRR auction, which are currently under construction, RWE has now been awarded three new Agri-PV projects with a total capacity of 30,2 megawatts (MWac). Acquafredda 2 (11,7 MWac) is located in the Campania region, Enna Piscopo (9,5 MW) in Sicily and Cave (9 MWac) in Calabria. Construction of the approximately 47,000 solar modules is scheduled to begin within the next weeks, with commissioning scheduled for 2026.
The three Agri-PV projects will use elevated mounting structures. Two of the projects will have high tracker structures with a movable axis, while the third will have a high, fixed-tilt structure, which is more compatible with the agrivoltaic-pastoral scope. Sheep will graze or crops will be harvested below the panels in a fully integrated energy-agri system, increasing agricultural yield while optimising land use. The panels provide protection against hail, frost, drought and heavy rain. To help improve the technology the performance of the three advanced Agri-PV systems and meteorological and agricultural yield data will be monitored by RWE.
Katja Wünschel, CEO RWE Renewables Europe & Australia: “This is great timing. Shortly before the completion of our two Agri-PV projects from last year's auction, we now have the green light to start construction on three more projects using this innovative technology. Italy is taking the lead in Agri-PV because land is a scarce resource that must be used responsibly and efficiently. We look forward to continuing to support Italy's energy targets.”
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. RWE operates 17 onshore wind farms in Italy, with a combined installed capacity of 598 MW – enough to supply more than 500,000 Italian households with green electricity every year. In addition to its first commercial-scale Agri-PV plants Morcone (9.8 MWac) and Acquafredda (9.3 MWac) in the Campania region, RWE is constructing two new onshore wind farms: The 47 MW Serra Palino wind farm is located in the Apulia region and the 45 MW Venusia wind farm in the Basilicata region.
A graphic (credit: RWE) is available at the RWE Media Centre.