A training course on regenerative enterprise and agrivoltaic integration set up by Falck Renewables, along with InVento Lab, which devised the project, and Cataudella High School in Scicli (Sicily, Italy), has come to a successful completion.
The training course which was part of of the Agricultural Technical course that began in December 2021 and was one of the initiatives set up for local communities around the Falck Renewables’ plants andin particulararound the area of Scicli where Falck Renewables is building a 9.7 MW agrivoltaic project. The plant will combine photovoltaic and agricultural production, thanks to the planting of fruit trees, medicinal plants and a polyphytic meadow for sheep grazing, beekeeping and the production of honey and beehive products. The implementation of the agricultural activity will allow the recovery of land left uncultivated for over twenty years and the crops will be given on a free loan basis to local businesses, allowing the creation of local employment.
During the training course, the students created integrated innovative business models capable of supporting, fruit tree species (lemons and carobs), honeydew production and the use of medicinal plants.
“The students were confronted with the creation of real start-ups, conceived with the aim of creating positive impacts on the environment and the territory,” says Michele Agnello, a professor at the Cataudella institute who, together with InVento Lab and Falck Renewables, guided the students through the training course.
“The ideas of sustainable entrepreneurship presented by the students and conceived by integrating agricultural development with the theme of renewable energy production,” explains Giangiacomo Altobelli, Falck Renewables’ community relations manager, “will be shared with the local companies that will manage the crops in the agrivoltaic plant. The aim is to create a virtuous circle thanks to our initiatives in the Scicli area”.
The experience of the students from the Cataudella Institute has been brought together in a video available on YouTube, including interviews with the students and Professor Agnello