Lisbon, Portugal, April 15th, 2024 – Akuo, renewable energy power producer and developer, has been awarded a pilot agrivoltaics project by the National Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. 
The project is financed within the framework of the Portuguese Agenda for Agriculture Innovation, with funds from the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP – instrument rolled out under the NextGenerationEU). This cooperative work is composed by ten different entities, including INIAV (National Institute for Agricultural and Veterinary Research), an educational institute, a producer’s association and other public and private entities from the agricultural sector capable to provide added value to the project. 

An experimental program 
Located in Alcobaça, country’s west region, the experimental Fruitpv project is taking place within the innovation hub’s headquarter of INIAV. Akuo will be supported by its exclusive partner and agricultural research office Agriterra. Akuo and Agriterra will be responsible for designing, implementing and monitoring the agrivoltaics solutions that are the most compatible with one of the apple tree species, i.e. Fuji apple tree. Akuo has pledged to implement several different pilot models with the goal of finding the best optimized solution capable of being replicated on a commercial scale.  
These experimental projects will lead to several outputs: the drafting of reports and articles presenting the results obtained with the different solutions and optimization measures applied; studies regarding their adaptation to other crops such as pome fruit trees and cherry trees; and a pilot corporate model to establish a renewable energy community based on an agrivoltaics project connected with high energy consumption fruit refrigeration warehouses and other local consumers. Such a program is a tangible input to the agricultural and energy sovereignty of Portugal, so as to make the best of constrained land. 

15 years of experience and feedback in agrivoltaics 
Since Akuo's first agrivoltaics project on Reunion Island in 2009, 20 projects of this type have been launched by the Akuo Group across the globe, in a variety of geographical locations and bio-climatic conditions. The technological solutions have been refined and adapted to the needs of farmers, the crops and the specific operating conditions of the site.  
The consortium will benefit from Akuo and Agriterra’s fifteen years of experience, and their accumulated expertise in various types of farming. 

More details on the FruitPV project: https://www.iniav.pt/projetos/fruitpv 

FruitPV