Regional Institute of Wine and Oil

ViEnergy, training and information seminars

On Thursday 13 and Friday 14 November at the Abele Damiani Agricultural Institute in Marsala, two training and information seminars will take place on the issues of the ViEnergy - Vigna Energetica cross-border project, financed with the Italy-Malta Operational Plan 2007 - 2013 in support of joint interventions for the prevention of natural and anthropogenic risks.

The works, which will begin at 9 am and end at 5.30 pm, will serve to make an initial assessment of the activities already carried out and will delve deeper into the ongoing actions of the ViEnergy – Vigna Energetica project. The seminars, open to sector operators, students and producers, through the direct voice of the representatives of the project partners, will turn the spotlight on every specific aspect of the energy theme proposed by ViEnergy, which aims to obtain the production efficiency of the vineyard according to the eco-compatibility criteria. During the works we will talk about the reduction of polluting emissions, the evaluation of the energy potential of the biomass produced with the residual materials of the viticultural-oenological activity (pruned wood and pomace). Focus is planned on the phyto-purification of oenological waste water for irrigation purposes and on the use of an additive of agricultural origin for the production of E-diesel, tested last month on some buses, classified Euro2, in the territory of the Municipality of Marsala. A space will also be dedicated to the analysis of the capture of CO2 from alcoholic fermentation to be used to power a photobioreactor for the production of algae and the use of solar energy for the production of cold for the needs of the cellars. “Thanks to the intervention of great experts in the sector – explains Antonino Di Giacomo, Commissioner of the Regional Institute of Wine and Oil – we will delve into all the aspects linked to the search for new forms of alternative energy to obtain wine excellence already in the vineyard with an approach that aims at sustainability and innovation of the supply chain and at creating income through the reuse of residual winemaking biomass.”. ViEnergy, Vigna Energetica involves the Regional Institute of Wine and Oil, in the role of project leader, the CO.RI.SSIA, the Research Consortium for the Development of Innovative Agri-food Systems, the Center for Studies of Applied Economics engineering of the University of Catania, the ABE srl Alternative Bioenergy company of Marsala and, for the Maltese side – the Ministry of the Environment, Sustainability and Climate Change and the University of Malta