The key points
- Engie’s goals in Italy
- Bureaucracy too slow
- Clean energy destined for Amazon
It is the first and largest agri-voltaic park built in Italy and it is also the first conceived on the basis of a Corporate Ppa (Power purchase agreement) contractual model between two private companies. The two companies are Engie and Amazon and the park is the one inaugurated in an area halfway between Marsala and Mazara del Vallo in the province of Trapani. The agrivoltaic park, whose construction was announced in 2021, covers 115 hectares and has an installed capacity of 66 MW.
An investment made possible thanks to a 100 million euro Green loan financed by CDP, Societé Generale and BNP Paribas. The goal is to produce clean energy and at the same time cultivate the fields to grow vines and olive trees, but also almond trees and aromatic and medicinal plants, from rosemary to laurel, lavender and asparagus (the care of the crops is entrusted to the local nursery Zichittella, in the area for over 40 years).
The agreement between Engie and Amazon provides for the construction of a second 38 MW agri-voltaic site in Paternò in the province of Catania: in total the two plants will have an installed capacity of 104 MW and the energy production will serve to power Amazon’s activities in Italy.
Engie’s goals in Italy
«Despite the context of the global crisis, we have continued on our decarbonisation path towards the energy transition. For us, the Mazara del Vallo agrivoltaic plant is fully consistent with the development strategy in Italy and in the world – says Monica Iacono, CEO of Engie Italia -. We currently have 500 MW of installed renewable capacity and our plan aims to reach 2 GW in 2030 between wind and photovoltaic plants. To achieve these objectives, a continuous and constant relationship with the territories and with the central institutions is essential together with a stable, simplified legislative and regulatory framework, which we hope will be defined soon”.
The Mazara del Vallo plant is equipped with latest generation technology: bifacial solar panels mounted on single-axis trackers allow both direct and reflected light to be captured from the surrounding land, thus facilitating energy production. The use of bifacial solar panels and trackers minimizes the area required for the photovoltaic system and maximizes the effectiveness for the agricultural destination. 150 people were employed to build the Mazara del Vallo plant.