Iberdrola and Oil’Ive Green have signed a collaboration agreement with the aim of developing agricultural solutions in synergy with olive growing in France, in order to support the diversification of wine-growing areas that are currently experiencing difficulties in the process of converting to olive growing.
This idea stems from the need to find solutions to the effects of climate change in these areas. For this reason, it will focus on the search for agricultural solutions in hedgerow olive groves, due to the many agronomic benefits of this planting model, especially its great physical resistance.
The strategic objective of this alliance is to identify sites on olive farms that could be suitable for the installation of agri-voltaic systems. In this way, the aim is to combine the production of renewable energies with olive growing in different areas of France such as New Aquitaine, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Occitania, among others.
For its part, Oil’Ive Green has stressed that it wants to build a real olive oil industry in France that is able to respond both to market growth and to the various economic and ecological challenges it faces. It therefore aims to cultivate 50,000 hectares of olive trees over the next decade.
Similarly, Iberdrola will contribute its extensive experience in the implementation of photovoltaic models in the agricultural sector, specifically in olive farms. To this end, the agricultural plants will be specifically adapted to the cultivation of “fruit hedges” and equipped with “solar trackers“. In this way, the solar panels will follow the progression of the sun, allowing them to be positioned according to the protection needs of the trees during the main stages of their vegetative cycle, as well as in the face of possible climate change conditions. In addition, the power plants will be adapted in such a way that harvesting can be mechanised.
In short, Iberdrola and Oil’Ive Green will jointly analyse the different possibilities of collaboration for the development of agricultural projects in wine-growing operations that seek to differentiate themselves.
