Canadian Solar has signed two 10-year PPAs with Axpo Italia for the purchase of 70% of energy produced by two solar power plants under development totaling 84MWp.
Axpo Italia is one of the largest market operators in the free energy market in Italy and a highly reliable and bankable renewables generator counterparty, Canadian Solar said.
The two solar projects of 33MWp and 51MWp are located in the central Lazian city of Viterbo, and the western Sicilian city of Trapani, respectively.
Canadian Solar is developing both projects, which are planned to start construction before 2023.
Axpo Italia will purchase the projects’ clean solar electricity after they reach commercial operation in January 2024.
Once in operation, the projects are expected to generate approximately 156GWh of clean energy annually, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of approximately 61,000 households or displacing 48,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Canadian Solar chairman and chief executive Shawn Qu said: “We are pleased to sign our second and third PPA with our partner Axpo Italia, becoming the largest solar developer in the country based on contracted volume.
“The growth of renewable energy in Italy is critical to achieving the country’s decarbonisation and energy security objectives.
“We will continue to step up in our leadership role as we continue to grow our pipeline of clean energy projects in Europe.”
Axpo Italia chief executive Simone Demarchi added: “For us at Axpo, it is essential to continue supporting the expansion and enhancement of long-term agreements (PPAs) for the production and distribution of energy from renewable sources.
“Today, we boast of an international experience in this sector and we are particularly pleased that the Italian market is starting to perceive its centrality as well.
“Thanks to our work with highly qualified partners such as Canadian Solar, PPAs represent one of the best tools to promote the construction of new clean energy plants and put them at the heart of ambitious goals and strategies to achieve decarbonisation.”