The installation of solar panels over a vineyard can help reduce the plants’ exposure to radiation and, at the same time, decrease water evaporation. It is one of the lines of investigation of Portugal’s first agrivoltaic vineyard project, developed by Galp and the Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ISA), at Tapada da Ajuda, in Lisbon.
The pilot project aimed to evaluate the potential of agrivoltaics as a strategy for adapting viticulture to climate change. The technology allows combining renewable energy production with agricultural activity in the same space, through partial coverage of crops with photovoltaic panels. In the case of the vineyard, the reduction of irradiance to which the plants are exposed can influence their vegetative development and the characteristics of the grapes and the wine.
In addition to the results related to wine production, the data collected over the course of the project point to a substantial reduction in water evaporation, with the potential to reduce the crop’s water needs and improve the management of this resource.
The experience also enabled the first wine harvest in Portugal produced under these conditions. The project results and the wine “Luz da Tapada”, produced from the 2025 harvest, will be presented on 24 September at the Instituto Superior de Agronomia, in a session that includes a blind wine tasting, dissemination of the results, and a visit to the pilot project.
The combination of agricultural production and renewable electricity generation also seeks to answer a question increasingly relevant in the context of the expansion of renewable energy: how to increase solar production without intensifying competition for agricultural land.
According to information provided by Galp, the positive results obtained in the pilot project are leading to the expansion of the technology to other regions and crops. The company is testing agrivoltaic solutions in the West and the North of the country, this time in apple orchards and blueberry crops.
The experience thus aims to assess whether the combined use of land for agricultural and energy production can contribute to making different agricultural systems more resilient to higher temperatures, greater water stress, and changes in production conditions associated with climate change.
