Agri-Photovoltaics (Agri-PV) is the dual use of land for solar energy production and agriculture, offering an innovative on-farm renewable energy solution. It is estimated that a coverage of only 1% of Utilised Agricultural with Agri-PV systems would allow the installation of 1TW of photovoltaic capacity well above the EU targets. However, key challenges remain: the lack of an EU-wide definition, risking land reclassification and loss of CAP subsidies, complex permitting, grid connection issues, rising land prices affecting farmers, balancing energy demand and production, biodiversity, and crop yields. This international meeting aims to bring together policymakers, researchers, practitioners and farmers to discuss opportunities and challenges for the deployment of Agri-PV in Portugal.
20th November 2025
09.00 – 09.30 Registration
09.30 – 10.00 Welcome Session
Cândida Malça, President of the Polytechnic University of Coimbra (IPC)
Rodrigo Vinagre, President of the Competence Center for the Horticultural Sector (COTHN-CC)
Vasco Estrela, Vice-President of the Commission for Coordination and Regional Development of the Center (CCDRC)
10.00 – 11.30 Session I – Policies for the energy transition in agriculture
Driving Innovation in On-Farm Energy, Trends, and Collaboration Opportunities in European Energy, Barry Caslin (EIP-AGRI)
Political perspectives on agrivoltaics development, Paulo Nogueira (ADENE)
Chair: Carmo Martins
11.30 – 12.00 Coffee-break
12.00 – 13.00 Session II – Agri-PV Case studies in Europe
Agrisolar from the EU perspective, Lina Dubina (SolarPower Europe)
Steering the complexity of the introduction of photovoltaic power systems in agriculture land use in the Netherlands; an overview of the existing innovation projects and approaches, Otto Bernsen (RVO)
Chair: Marta Lopes
13.00 – 14.30 Lunch
14.30 – 15.30 Session III – Opportunities & challenges of Agri-PV in agriculture
When Solar Power Meets Smart Farming: Flexibility and Grid Integration Issues, António G. Martins (UC, INESCC)
Land use constraints and opportunities for solar energy deployment: the role of social acceptance and policy, Eric Lambin & Ana Buchada, (UCLouvain)
Chair: Ana Soares
15.30 – 15.45 Coffee-break
16.00 – 17.00 Session IV – Agri-PV Case studies in Portugal
Development of AgriPV solutions to reduce the impact of climate change on highly competitive apple orchards: Presentation of the FruitPV prototype, Miguel Leão (INIAV)
Vineyard Agrivoltaics – Preliminary results from the pilot at Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Carlos Lopes & Gonçalo Victorino (ISA)
AgriFlex – Energy flexibility in agriculture, Marta Lopes (IPC-ESAC, INESCC)
Chair: Rosa Guilherme
17.00 – 17.15 Closing session
José Manuel Fernandes, Minister of Agriculture and Fishing (a confirmar)
21st November 2025
Technical visits to Agri-PV projects in Portugal
09.00 – 11.30 AgriFlex pilots at Coimbra
11.30 – 14.00 Travel and lunch
14.00 – 16.00 FruitPV pilot at Alcobaça
16.00 – 17.30 Travel back to Coimbra
ORGANISATION
Polytechnic University of Coimbra – Agricultural School (IPC-ESAC)
Competence Center for the Horticultural Sector (COTHN-CC)
Institute for Systems Engineering and Computers at Coimbra (INESCC)
Commission for Coordination and Regional Development of the Center (CCDRC)
National Institute of Agricultural and Veterinary Research (INIAV)
University of Coimbra (UC)
Polytechnic University of Santarém – Agricultural School (IPS-ESAS)
Polytechnic University of Viseu – Agricultural School (IPV-ESAV)
Polytechnic University of Castelo Branco – Agricultural School
ORGANISING COMMITTEE
Chairs:
Marta Lopes, IPC-ESAC, INESC Coimbra
Ana Soares, University of Coimbra, INESC Coimbra
Carmo Martins, COTHN-CC
António Monteiro, IPV-ESAC
Fernanda Delgado, IPCB-ESACB
Filipe Madeira, IPS-ESAS
Miguel Leão, INIAV
Rosa Guilherme, CCDRC
Rui Amaro, IPC-ESAC
REGISTRATION here: https://forms.office.com/e/gMiuM4pSSb
Contacts:
COTHN – AGRI-PV Nexus 2025
Estrada de Leiria, S/N, 2460-059 Alcobaça
Phone: +351 262 507 657
Email: geral@cothn.pt
