Cero Generation has achieved financial close of the 70MW Pontinia solar farm in Italy.
Pontinia in Latina province is one of the first large-scale agrivoltaic solar projects in Italy.
It has been designed to maximise performance and efficiency using single-axis trackers, bifacial modules and string inverters.
Construction will commence in May 2022.
Pontinia is expected to reach commercial operation in the first quarter of 2023.
As well as supply clean electricity to the grid, as an agrivoltaic plant, 65% of the 135 hectares that Pontinia sits on will also be used for agricultural crops.
This dual use of arable land is an increasingly important approach for the deployment of utility-scale solar projects that are integral to achieving a net zero future, Cero stated.
Further positive impact will also be delivered through the collaboration between Cero and a social farm, which will be responsible for cultivating crops across the site using biodynamic and fuel-efficient methods, while providing opportunities for the reintegration of vulnerable or socially excluded people.
As one of the largest grid-parity solar projects to reach financial close in Italy, Pontinia is at the forefront of the shift to subsidy-free solar PV projects in the country, stated Cero.
The project’s revenues are underpinned by two long-term corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs) making it one of the first corporate PPA project financings in Italy.
“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.
Cero was advised by Ashurst and the banking partners were advised by Gianni & Origoni (legal) and RINA (technical advisory).
Cero is an independent portfolio company of Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG) operating on a standalone basis and has over 1.5GW of solar PV capacity under development in Italy.