Investigating the effect of shading on grapevine performance and wine quality under vitivoltaic systems

Summary

Objective

The project aims to evaluate the grapevines’ response to the shading from photovoltaic modules, by examining vegetative growth, physiological functions, reproductive outcomes and fruit chemistry. Additionally, it seeks to investigate the potential impact on wine quality produced from grapes grown under the vitivoltaic system. The trials were started in the 2023-2024 growing season at Waite Campus, University of Adelaide on a single row of Merlot grapevines, and it will be repeated in the following years to collect data with consistency and repeatability. An industry partner, Paxton Wines, has expressed their interest in the project, and will adopt a vitivoltaic system in their vineyard. Measurements of canopy development, yield and fruit chemistry will be taken from their site in the future years as well as an insight of industrial performance of the project.

Background

Harvesting solar energy through photovoltaic requires significant land, creating competition with agriculture for arable space. Constructing agrivoltaics systems over croplands offers a potential solution to the competition, but the shade from the solar panels can reduce the productivity of certain crop species. Grapevines have advantages in this context, since they only require a fraction of the daylight to achieve the maximum rate of photosynthesis which allows the rest of the solar radiation to be harvested for energy. This project with investigate the potential to generate alternative income streams, reduce energy costs associated with grape and wine production and increase the resilience of vineyards through strategic shading and protection of the canopy.