373 Photovoltaic as Sustainable Energy for Greenhouse and Closed Plant Production System C. Campiotti, F. Dondi and A. Genovese ENEA, Department Biotechnology Agro-industry and protection of the Health Italy G. Alonzo and V. Catanese Department Ingegneria e Tecnologie Agro Forestali University of Palermo Italy L. Incrocci Department Biologia delle Piante Agrarie University of Pisa Italy C. Bibbiani Department Produzioni Animali University of Pisa Italy Keywords: stand-alone PV power supply, closed greenhouse, solar energy, photovoltaic electricity generation Abstract In this paper, a description of a prototype for closed plant production module with a photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation system is presented. This is one of the results of a cooperation research project started on 1997 among the ENEA (Agency for New Technologies, the Energy and the Environment) and some Italian Universities (Palermo, Messina and Pisa) with the aim to realize a closed hydroponic module to supply fresh plant food for the personnel of the Italian base “Mario Zucchelli” located at “Baia Terranova” (BTN) in Antartica. The prototype was designed as a container unit (6.055 m (l) x 2.435 m (w) x 2.585 m (h)) equipped with a stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) system, made of 6 modules able to generate 1.1 kW p DC peak power, mounted on the roof. The DC power can be converted into AC power by a DC/AC inverter or stored in a battery bank (24 V/900 Ah). The main goal of the work is to test the feasibility of a PV power generation system both for closed plant production module (that will be installed at BTN) and Sicilian greenhouse industry. At the moment, the prototype has been installed in the south of Italy (S.Croce Camerina, located in the Sicily region, 36°49’ of latitude and an annual average sum of solar irradiance near to 2,000 kWh.m -2 ). Experiments are in progress to evaluate the PV system efficiency and its economic aspects. INTRODUCTION In 1997, the ENEA (Agency for New Technologies, the Energy and the Environment) set up a specific project in the frame of the PNRA (Italian National Antarctic Research Programme) with the aim to realize a closed hydroponic module to supply fresh plant food for the personnel of the Italian base “Mario Zucchelli” located at “Baia Terranova” (BTN) in Antartica. (Campiotti et al., 2001). In order to limit the energy requirements of the module, a photovoltaic (PV) power generation system was implemented in the original module. A significant aspect, also associated with the use of photovoltaic, is the research opportunity dealing with the exploration of remote environments, such as: Antarctica, Artic, Space and the desert (Giacomelli et al., 2004; Kozai et al., 2006; Campiotti et al., 2006; Campiotti et al., 2008). The study of PV generation system is also important for the greenhouse industry. In fact, the energy consumption cost in greenhouse’s management has been increasing dramatically for the past years, thus greenhouse owners (stakeholders) are more prone to use alternative energy sources for greenhouse heating and/or electrical supply. As a general figure, 27 European Union member Countries (EUC) are operating about 200,000 hectares of greenhouses of which not less than 20% provided with acclimatization systems using fossil fuels (Jouet, 2001; Waaijenberg, 2006). However, total energy consumption of greenhouses are steadily increasing as a Proc. IW on Greenh. Environ. Control & Crop Prod. in Semi-Arid Regions Eds.: C. Kubota and M. Kacira Acta Hort. 797, ISHS 2008