The first photovoltaic panels are installed in vineyards in the Gard region of Southern France

n Wednesday 23 October, technicians at Sun’Agri officially started up the swivelling agrivoltaic panels installed above a 750 m2 block of Viognier vines being converted to organic by students at the Rodilhan agricultural college, near Nimes.

The various equipment – weather stations, cameras monitoring the various stages of phenology development, irrigation meters etc – is spread over the four rows of vines and communicates in real-time with a smart management system to optimise the direction of the panels. The agronomic and oenological impact of the installation, coupled with a 600 m2 control block planted at the same time, 18 years ago, will be assessed over three full vintages by the Gard chamber of agriculture and French vine and wine institute (IFV).

With climate experts predicting a minimum temperature increase of 2.7°C and 18% drop in rainfall by 2050 in the Rhone Valley and around the Mediterranean rim, Sun’Agri points to a drop of up to 5°C in the air and -10°C on the leaves beneath the agrivoltaic shading. This combines with a 30% decline in irrigation requirements and a decrease in losses caused by sunburn and adverse weather conditions. Technicians from the chamber of agriculture will closely monitor yield developments and will also check whether, by blocking rainfall, the shading slows the onset of disease. IFV’s task will be to conduct small-batch winemaking trials to assess the impact of the shading on the aromas and balance of the wines.

“All the data we collect will help us improve our algorithms and create benchmarks for the entire wine industry in Occitanie”, claims a delighted Alexandre Cartier, head of viticulture at Sun’Agri.