The largest agrivoltaic plant in Italy will be created in Tarquinia, in the Lazio region, from an intersection between renewables and the territory. The building site was inaugurated by Enel Green Power this past March 23.
A virtuous path, in synergy with the community and in harmony with the agricultural activities present in the area. In fact, the site holds two records, because the plant in Tarquinia will also be the largest Italian solar plant, bringing real and transversal benefits from an environmental, economic and social point of view, both at the national and local level.
The plant will combine innovation and closeness to the territory and will be able to meet the energy needs of about 111,000 households by generating approximately 170 MW of completely renewable power. Once fully operational, the agrivoltaic park will be able to produce 280 GWh per year on average, preventing the release into the atmosphere of almost 130,000 tons of CO2 and the consumption of about 26 million cubic meters of gas. The fossil fuel will be completely replaced by clean and locally produced renewable energy.
This achievement was made possible thanks to the systemic use of cutting-edge technologies such as bifacial photovoltaic modules, which allow solar energy absorption from both surfaces. Another cutting-edge technology are trackers, structures that allow the panels to track the sun throughout the day to maximize production and make it even more efficient.
“The solar plant we are building in Tarquinia shows that an increase in the use of renewable energy can be harmoniously combined with agricultural activities,” commented Salvatore Bernabei, CEO of Enel Green Power. “In fact, this plant will seamlessly integrate with the local area and will host crops, resulting in a positive impact on the environment, the economy and the local area, as well as helping to reduce Italy’s energy dependency.”
The new agrivoltaic plant will be built on private land, owned by a local business that chose to collaborate with Enel Green Power to integrate agricultural activities at the plant. Fodder and borage will be planted between the rows of photovoltaic modules as well as in the buffer strips near overhead power lines, while olive trees will be planted along the perimeter strips.
The project will generate other benefits as well for the local economy. The companies involved in the construction of the plant are from Lazio, predominantly from the province of Viterbo, and there will be a peak employment of about 330 people in the estimated 13 months of construction time required.
Tarquinia is an exemplary case which confirms how fundamental it is to the energy transition to have the ability to dialogue with the territory to develop sustainable models while being in tune with the needs of citizens. It demonstrates that environmental and economic factors are not in opposition to each other, but feed off each other, generating positive benefits for the entire Italian economic system.