Under the contract Phoenix Solar will design and build the plant, then provide operations and maintenance services once it opens. The facility is expected to produce more than two million kilowatt hours of electricity annually.
Phoenix Solar is already building a 3.5-MW plant for Etrion in Borgo Piave, Italy, a project that is now “well underway,” according to the company. Both projects are expected to be completed by the end of the year.
“We are pleased to contract Phoenix Solar to build another solar power plant in Italy,” said Etrion CEO Marco Northland. “The 1.7-MW park in Rio Martino, Lazio is part of our internal development portfolio and once again demonstrates our Italian team’s development capability.”
The new facility will use Trina Solar Ltd. photovoltaic panels and inverters made by SMA Solar Technology AG.
Italy is seen as a particularly fertile market for solar power due to government-mandated prices for power generated by solar panels. The Italian feed-in-tariff is a premium purchase price for solar electricity that is guaranteed by the Italian government for 20 years from the start of operations. On a related note, Etrion has completed its acquisition of 33 MW of solar power projects from US-based SunPower Corp. for cash consideration of approximately €49 million plus the assumption of the related non-recourse loan facilities.
“We are delighted to finalize this transaction,” Northland said. “We now have 40 MW of operating assets in Italy and are on track to reach critical mass.
We expect to benefit from economies of scale and increase the yield for each of these projects by implementing operational efficiencies. In a short period of time, Etrion has become one of the largest solar power producers in Italy,” he added.
The 33 MW projects, in the Lazio region outside of Rome, are expected to produce over 55 million kWh of electricity and approximately €22 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization per year. Northland said.
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