Every cloud has a silver lining. The fact that the sun is shining more often and more intensely as a result of climate change does mean that your solar panels work more efficiently. The Schödl and Schweighofer wine-growing families have installed no fewer than 2,560 of them in their vineyard in Zistersdorf. That’s enough to power around 350 households.
Text: Marjolein Schuman |
They hover above 4,500 vines and not only generate green electricity, but also protect the bunches of grapes from extreme weather. In their own new microclimate, the delicate grapes are now safe from heat and hail.
This innovative installation is a pilot project that took five years to prepare and received a great deal of media attention. After all, no valuable agricultural land is lost, and wine production continues as normal beneath the panels. ‘Thanks to the partial shade provided by the panels, the shoots of the vines actually develop more vigorously,’ says winegrower Herbert Schödl.
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