Ragusa solar park

Intro

The Ragusa Agrivoltaic Plant is a shared project promoted by GridShare that will be built on an agricultural territory in the municipality of Ragusa, in Sicily. The plant has a nominal power of 999 kWp and an estimated production of about 1,900,000 kWh per year, equal to the average consumption of about 700 homes with average consumption. Furthermore, having ranked among the winning projects of the 2024 agrivoltaic call, the plant enjoys a 40% non-repayable contribution (used to reduce the project's financial leverage) as well as a fixed incentive rate of 78.19 €/MWh for the first 20 years of operation. All this involves the prediction of an expected annual gross return for investors of between 6.5% and 11% over the 30 years of useful life.

Story

This is the third shared solar farm project put on the market by GridShare. The Ragusa plant was offered in July 2025 to retail and corporate subscribers through the CrowdFundMe partner platform, and included in the vehicle company Ecofund Srl, qualified as an innovative startup and therefore able to offer an IRPEF deduction or IRES deduction to investors on the subscribed share capital component.
The plant was developed by Regran, who will operate as a general contractor thanks to his twenty-year experience in the renewable energy sector with specialization in the design of photovoltaic and agrivoltaic systems.

Technical characteristics

• Nominal power: 999 kW
• Estimated annual production: about 1,900 MWh
• Total surface area: 15,000 square meters in right of surface
• Number of panels: 1,425
• Typology: bifacial solar panels with monoaxial trackers
• Energy sales: fixed incentive rate for 20 years equal to 78.19€/MWh

Design characteristics

The initiative allows investors to participate in the energy transition by investing a minimum amount through crowdfunding. The business model is based on the generation and sale of photovoltaic energy at an incentive rate, with the distribution of annual returns to all members.
The agrivoltaic project, the first promoted by GridShare, has the unique characteristic of combining energy returns with production on agricultural land, thus preserving the development of agriculture and creating new synergies and greater returns for the ecosystem.
In fact, the Ragusa plant will be built at a height of 3.10 meters above land intended for arable crops. This model allows, thanks to carefully designed shading techniques, to increase the agricultural yield of the land, and at the same time to contain maintenance costs thanks to constant pruning, promoting continuity in agricultural and photovoltaic productivity.

The secret anecdote

During the discussion phase on the design of the plant, one of our technicians reported to the working table a topic that was at least unusual. During the first summer inspections, the camp was' attacked 'by a significant number of mosquitoes. An element that seemed unusual and funny to deal with while we were intent on evaluating the effects of shading panels on crops, but which in the end proved to be an excellent food for thought. The presence of the agrivoltaic system, in fact, will improve and optimize irrigation, effectively mitigating the “problem”. Another example of synergies and advantages generated by the combination of agriculture and energy.

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