Cero Generation, a solar project developer and an independent portfolio company of Macquarie’s Green Investment Group, has achieved the financial close for its 70 MW Pontinia agrivoltaic solar PV project in Italy.
The solar project is located in the province of Latina in the Lazio region and is among the first large-scale agrivoltaic project in the country. The company said that the project uses single-axis trackers, bifacial modules, and string inverters to maximize performance and efficiency.
The construction works will commence in May 2022 and are expected to reach commercial operation in Q1 2023.
The project will generate enough renewable electricity to power over 47,000 homes, avoiding around 40,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.
Additionally, as an agrivoltaic plant, 65% of the 135 hectares that the project spread on-site will also be used for agricultural crops.
The project’s revenues are supported by two long-term corporate Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), making it one of Italy’s first corporate PPA project financings.
Currently, the company has over 1.5 GW of solar PV capacity under development in Italy and is committed to installing over 50 GW of solar PV by 2030.
Ashurst advised Cero, and the banking partners were advised by Gianni & Origoni (legal) and RINA (technical advisory).
“At Cero, we view innovation as being crucial to achieving net-zero. I’m therefore proud to see this reflected in the Pontinia project through its agrivoltaic design and the structure of its financing and off-take arrangements. We look forward to continuing to bring this level of innovation into our broader pipeline of projects in Italy and other European markets,” said Marta Martinez Queimadelos, CEO of Cero Generation.
According to Mercom’s Q1 2022 solar funding and M&A report, announced large-scale project funding in Q1 2022 came to $9.1 billion in 36 deals.
Image credit: BlueWave
