Through a system of utilizing by-products from the farm itself

Energy circularity of the farm, thanks to olive by-products

In 2009, it installed a 20-kilowatt photovoltaic system , the first in the municipality of Castel del Piano, which allows the farm to process its own olives and those of neighboring producers, delivered to the oil mill, without relying on fossil fuels. A biomass boiler fueled by hazelnuts, or the hard part remaining from pressing, was also already in operation. While the pomace-i.e., the remaining water and pulp-is sent to a biogas plant in Grosseto that generates electricity from its fermentation, the hazelnuts are stored and used to heat rooms in the winter months, along with the clippings from pruning.

Vegetation water is also reused for fertigation and waste pulp as natural fertilizer. These strategies save about 150 quintals of CO2 annually, making Poderi Borselli’s environmental impact almost close to zero and demonstrating the functionality of renewable energy technologies at the service of agricultural life. A value, this one, that also underlies the CAP-Common Agricultural Policy guidelines: here is what it is and why it is important in Italy