There has been a growing interest in agro-voltaics, especially now that the institutions have allowed applications to be submitted. "There are many design and/or installation companies," says a company press release, "offering to work with interested farms (and others) to build the structures, but no one is really able to offer a complete and certified solution. The only one that has the necessary requirements is PowerShield Tech, which Valente has developed with his partner i-Pergola, and the reason is very simple," he says.
"In addition to acting in good time to find the best solutions and to comply with the regulations in force on "agri-voltaics", in April this year Valente filed a patent application (patent pending) with the "Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy", which, once the evaluation process has been completed, will grant the company exclusivity for the production of this type of tension structure with panels and agri-voltaics placed above them, regardless of whether they are made of concrete poles or other materials.
"The exclusivity is guaranteed at the same time as the application is submitted, which means that from now on no one other than the Valente and i-Pergola partnership will be authorised to build photovoltaic systems with sheets or nets to protect the plants underneath. It is therefore advisable to be wary of those who propose projects that they are not authorised to install. In order to cultivate the orchard safely and in accordance with normal agronomic practices, the current solution is called PowerShield Tech," says the company.
In fact, the system makes it possible to cover the orchard, protecting it from the weather, and at the same time to have the structural extension where the strings of high-efficiency panels are installed to produce electricity. The system configured according to this method is able to produce an average of 700kW per hectare, depending on the distance between the rows, thanks to the optimised installation of the high-efficiency panels, distributed along the length of the rows so as to avoid excessive shading, and thanks to the photovoltaic tracker with the i-Pergola IEPFMS software. In addition, this solution can save up to 40% of the water required, thanks to an innovative management and control system for the irrigation system to be installed in the covered orchard.
The Power Shield Tech solution allows the orchard to be cultivated using normal agronomic practices. In fact, the system is made up of support poles anchored to the ground and connected by wires and cables that, when stretched, form a very stable tensile structure (equipped with sensors to monitor the tension of the cables) on which, in addition to installing the photovoltaic system, it is also possible to apply hail or rain covers.
There are a number of projects that the Valente-I-Pergola partnership is carrying out in Italy, and in particular two projects in Apulia that are at an advanced stage of completion. These are an advanced photovoltaic system on a citrus grove (Tango mandarins) in Massafra (Taranto) and an advanced photovoltaic system, also on a citrus grove, in Valenzano (Bari). Other installations are in the process of being completed in Umbria, where a true experimental technology park is being created with six different plots cultivating different species. The collection of data, together with any changes in agronomic practices, will give the farmer a complete picture of the situation and provide him with a set of new cultivation practices that will guarantee perfect cultivation, even under the shade of the panels.
"The goal of being able to combine fruit growing and electricity production is certainly a noble one, and we are confident that it will be achieved and become a great opportunity for the entire agricultural sector," the company concludes.
For more information:
Valente
Tel.: +39 049 5565855
Email: [email protected]
Agrivoltaic Power Shield