Periodic Reporting for period 2 - SolAqua (Accessible, reliable and affordable solar irrigation for Europe and beyond)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2022-04-01 al 2023-09-30
SolAqua’s overall objective is to increase the share of renewable energy (RE) consumption in Europe by facilitating the market uptake of solar irrigation (SI) in the farming sector. The consortium of SolAqua, which represents more than 70% of EU irrigators, is well aware of the potential of Solar Irrigation (SI) to decisively improve the sustainability of farming and rural communities in Europe. Nevertheless, in order to fulfil this potential, it is necessary to overcome the existing barriers to the market uptake of SI. To do this, SolAqua will accelerate the clean energy transition in EU agriculture by facilitating the development of a well-functioning market for SI. This will be done by producing and exploiting a set of 7 Key Enabling Materials and Tools (KEMT) and by creating awareness, skills and action opportunities among more than 150,000 farmers, 70 local SMEs and 40 Public Administrations in Europe and beyond.
SolAqua has the following specific objectives:
SO1. Produce and disseminate a set of 7 KEMT, designed to solve technical, economic and legal issues which are acting as barriers for the market uptake of SI.
SO2. Produce awareness and skills of SI among ISINPA in six countries (France, Italy, Spain, Romania, Portugal and Morocco) with a combined SI potential of more than 14 GW. At least 150,000 potential end-users, 70 SMEs equipped with SI technical skills and 38 Public Authorities. Also, institutional investors will be attracted to provide at least € 150 M.
SO3. Trigger the European SI market by facilitating a joint promotion of at least 100 MW of SI.
SO4. Increase the effectiveness of public supporting schemes for on-farm investments for the promotion of SI. SolAqua will produce a new EAFRD financial instrument that will be implemented in 3 European regions and will support more than 40 MW of new SI capacity.
SO5. Facilitate market uptake of reliable and affordable SI in markets outside the EU. SolAqua will focus on the emergent market of Morocco.
SolAqua has the following specific objectives:
SO1. Produce and disseminate a set of 7 KEMT, designed to solve technical, economic and legal issues which are acting as barriers for the market uptake of SI.
SO2. Produce awareness and skills of SI among ISINPA in six countries (France, Italy, Spain, Romania, Portugal and Morocco) with a combined SI potential of more than 14 GW. At least 150,000 potential end-users, 70 SMEs equipped with SI technical skills and 38 Public Authorities. Also, institutional investors will be attracted to provide at least € 150 M.
SO3. Trigger the European SI market by facilitating a joint promotion of at least 100 MW of SI.
SO4. Increase the effectiveness of public supporting schemes for on-farm investments for the promotion of SI. SolAqua will produce a new EAFRD financial instrument that will be implemented in 3 European regions and will support more than 40 MW of new SI capacity.
SO5. Facilitate market uptake of reliable and affordable SI in markets outside the EU. SolAqua will focus on the emergent market of Morocco.
SO1: 6 of the 7 KEMTs were elaborated and delivered on due time during the 1st reporting period of the project. KEMT 7 was completed on month 22 as the deliverable D 2.13 “EAFRD Financial instrument”, according to the GA.
SO2: SolAqua has created awareness and interest for PV irrigation systems (PVIS) among ISINPA with more than 26,000 visits to the website from 8,500 people, 444,841 through the social networks and 1,230,948 reached through the different events organized. Furthermore, 257 SMEs and professionals interested in installing PVIS have been trained. Regarding Public Authorities, the EAFRD Financial Instrument has been presented to representatives of 36 EAFRD Managing Authorities from 7 different countries.
SO3: SolAqua produced a database including also firm economic offers and a risk assessment for investors for a total of 126.04 MW.
SO4:SolAqua produced the required ex-ante evaluations using the standards demanded by DG-AGRI and FI-Compass and its EAFRD financial instrument a has been successfully implemented in Aragón with a total budget of 15 M€ and in Valencia with 1.59 M€., able to provide guarantees for 150 MW of PV irrigation with a total investment of approximately 160 M€.
SO5: 15 EU SMEs and 19 Moroccan SMEs and institutions have been involved in a commercial mission in Morocco.
SO2: SolAqua has created awareness and interest for PV irrigation systems (PVIS) among ISINPA with more than 26,000 visits to the website from 8,500 people, 444,841 through the social networks and 1,230,948 reached through the different events organized. Furthermore, 257 SMEs and professionals interested in installing PVIS have been trained. Regarding Public Authorities, the EAFRD Financial Instrument has been presented to representatives of 36 EAFRD Managing Authorities from 7 different countries.
SO3: SolAqua produced a database including also firm economic offers and a risk assessment for investors for a total of 126.04 MW.
SO4:SolAqua produced the required ex-ante evaluations using the standards demanded by DG-AGRI and FI-Compass and its EAFRD financial instrument a has been successfully implemented in Aragón with a total budget of 15 M€ and in Valencia with 1.59 M€., able to provide guarantees for 150 MW of PV irrigation with a total investment of approximately 160 M€.
SO5: 15 EU SMEs and 19 Moroccan SMEs and institutions have been involved in a commercial mission in Morocco.
The KPIs to measure the impact are:
• KPI 1: "SolAqua will create awareness about SI in a number of potential end-users (at least 150,000 potential end-users although SOLAQUA consortium expects to reach 300,000), equivalent to at least 20% of the new PV installed capacity required to meet the EU objectives of renewable energy generation for this technology (16 GW)".
SolAqua has created awareness about SI with more than 26,000 visits to the website from 8,500 people, 444,841 through the social networks and 1,230,948 through the different events organized. Furthermore, SolAqua has created awareness with an initial database of 268 MWp, impacting in 107,200 farmers.
• KPI 2: "SolAqua will directly facilitate the promotion of at least 100 MW of new renewable energy installed capacity SI systems using the project´s KEMTs, mobilizing more than € 120 M in green investments".
SolAqua has produced a database for a total power of 126.04 MW of PV irrigation systems with firm technical and economic offers to the interested end users, equivalent to a total investment of 98 M€. The EU market has been triggered with the first installations. A milestone has been the implementationof the largest PV irrigation system in the world in Huesca (Spain) with 1.5 MW PPA-based financing model.
• KPI 3: "Production and dissemination of 7 KEMT that jointly allow for the reduction of up to 50% of the development costs of SI".
The joint application of these KEMTs to the promotion of PV irrigation systems allows not only a reduction in development costs but, more importantly, a reduction in the price of electricity for the end user. The example of the PV irrigation system of 1.5 MW is illustrative: the final price for this PV electricity is 4.5 c€/kWh, what represents savings in the cost of electricity for the irrigators ranging from 62% to 25%, depending on the hourly tariff. This electricity cost could be even lower if the KEMT 7 had been applied but the EAFRD Financial Instrument in the region of Aragon was implemented after the installation of this system.
• KPI 4: Production of an environmental assessment methodology for SI and dissemination to at least 400 key professionals and policy makers.
The KEMT 2 “Environmental assessment methodology for SI projects” has been disseminated to 515 professionals and SMEs and 179 policy makers through 12 training courses and 6 workshops, webinars and conferences.
• KPI 5: Production of an EAFRD financial instrument suitable to provide at least € 40 M/year of funds to develop SI.
SolAqua has produced the KEMT 7 “The EAFRD SI-Financial instrument for Rural Development Plans” and this Financial Instrument has been implemented in two Managing Authorities of EAFRD funds: the governments of Aragón and Valencia. in Aragon with a budget of €15 M and in Valencia with a budget of €1.59 M. With these budgets, and given that they will be dedicated to supporting financing with guarantees, they can support at least 150 MW of PV irrigation systems with a total investment of approximately 160 M€.
• KPI 6: Dissemination of the EAFRD financial instrument to 100% of the Managing Authorities of Rural Development Plans in regions with irrigation.
SolAqua EAFRD Financial Instrument has been disseminated to 36 EE regions with irrigation, to different departments and units of the European Commission, included DG-Agri and Fi-Compass, and SolAqua was invited to participate in the 9th annual EU conference on EAFRD financial instruments where a wide representation of the EAFRD Managing Authorities were present.
• KPI 7: Facilitate at least 15 European SMEs to pioneer the Moroccan solar irrigation market.
SolAqua has organized a commercial mission with 15 EU SMEs, 19 Moroccan SMEs and several Moroccan institutions. In the last minute, an earthquake devastated Morocco and SolAqua had to replace the commercial mission by a Virtual Commercial Mission by setting up a platform on SolAqua Website.
• KPI 1: "SolAqua will create awareness about SI in a number of potential end-users (at least 150,000 potential end-users although SOLAQUA consortium expects to reach 300,000), equivalent to at least 20% of the new PV installed capacity required to meet the EU objectives of renewable energy generation for this technology (16 GW)".
SolAqua has created awareness about SI with more than 26,000 visits to the website from 8,500 people, 444,841 through the social networks and 1,230,948 through the different events organized. Furthermore, SolAqua has created awareness with an initial database of 268 MWp, impacting in 107,200 farmers.
• KPI 2: "SolAqua will directly facilitate the promotion of at least 100 MW of new renewable energy installed capacity SI systems using the project´s KEMTs, mobilizing more than € 120 M in green investments".
SolAqua has produced a database for a total power of 126.04 MW of PV irrigation systems with firm technical and economic offers to the interested end users, equivalent to a total investment of 98 M€. The EU market has been triggered with the first installations. A milestone has been the implementationof the largest PV irrigation system in the world in Huesca (Spain) with 1.5 MW PPA-based financing model.
• KPI 3: "Production and dissemination of 7 KEMT that jointly allow for the reduction of up to 50% of the development costs of SI".
The joint application of these KEMTs to the promotion of PV irrigation systems allows not only a reduction in development costs but, more importantly, a reduction in the price of electricity for the end user. The example of the PV irrigation system of 1.5 MW is illustrative: the final price for this PV electricity is 4.5 c€/kWh, what represents savings in the cost of electricity for the irrigators ranging from 62% to 25%, depending on the hourly tariff. This electricity cost could be even lower if the KEMT 7 had been applied but the EAFRD Financial Instrument in the region of Aragon was implemented after the installation of this system.
• KPI 4: Production of an environmental assessment methodology for SI and dissemination to at least 400 key professionals and policy makers.
The KEMT 2 “Environmental assessment methodology for SI projects” has been disseminated to 515 professionals and SMEs and 179 policy makers through 12 training courses and 6 workshops, webinars and conferences.
• KPI 5: Production of an EAFRD financial instrument suitable to provide at least € 40 M/year of funds to develop SI.
SolAqua has produced the KEMT 7 “The EAFRD SI-Financial instrument for Rural Development Plans” and this Financial Instrument has been implemented in two Managing Authorities of EAFRD funds: the governments of Aragón and Valencia. in Aragon with a budget of €15 M and in Valencia with a budget of €1.59 M. With these budgets, and given that they will be dedicated to supporting financing with guarantees, they can support at least 150 MW of PV irrigation systems with a total investment of approximately 160 M€.
• KPI 6: Dissemination of the EAFRD financial instrument to 100% of the Managing Authorities of Rural Development Plans in regions with irrigation.
SolAqua EAFRD Financial Instrument has been disseminated to 36 EE regions with irrigation, to different departments and units of the European Commission, included DG-Agri and Fi-Compass, and SolAqua was invited to participate in the 9th annual EU conference on EAFRD financial instruments where a wide representation of the EAFRD Managing Authorities were present.
• KPI 7: Facilitate at least 15 European SMEs to pioneer the Moroccan solar irrigation market.
SolAqua has organized a commercial mission with 15 EU SMEs, 19 Moroccan SMEs and several Moroccan institutions. In the last minute, an earthquake devastated Morocco and SolAqua had to replace the commercial mission by a Virtual Commercial Mission by setting up a platform on SolAqua Website.