Italian solar company changes hands
The operations and maintenance and the engineering, procurement and construction arms of PV company Enerray have been sold off by troubled industrial conglomerate Gruppo Industriale Maccaferri for cash, transferring 240 MWp of Italian generation capacity to the management of rival LT Renewables.
The Green Deal for Europe and backing from the Italian government will see the nation add 1.1 GWp of new clean energy capacity annually for the next decade, according to the PV plant operations and maintenance (O&M) services provider which has taken ownership of the rival business of Enerray.
The lift for clean energy investment will see Italy progress from 22 GWp of solar generation capacity today to 30 GWp “in the coming years,” O&M provider LT Renewables said today, as it announced the acquisition of Enerray’s O&M and engineering, procurement and construction activities from troubled industrial parent company Gruppo Industriale Maccaferri.
Milan-based LT Renewables did not reveal the price paid for Enerray but told pv magazine it was paid in cash and did not involve ofsetting for monies owed. A spokesman for the O&M provider – which now claims to have 500 MWp under management, up from 220 MWp at the start of the year – told pv magazine no jobs would be lost at Enerray as part of the acquisition. The Enerray acquisition brought 240 MWp of solar plant O&M work to the LT portfolio, added the spokesman, in the form of around 250 projects across Italy.
Debt restructure
Family-owned multinational Maccaferri announced in March it intended to sell off non-strategic businesses, including Enerray, as part of a debt restructuring package which would protect its core manufacturing activity.
LT Renewables noted the consolidation being experienced in the Italian solar industry with the biggest ten project asset owners accounting for 2 GWp of generation capacity.
A statement issued by LT to announce the Enerray acquisition said: “Italy is on the dawn of a new season of growth in new installed capacity of renewable energy thanks to national and European policies that support the … energy transition … The Italian government and the European Union have provided substantial funding for the sector thanks to the Green New Deal. In order to achieve these objectives, about 1.1 GWp (€1 billion) per year of new installations are expected for the next 10 years … The solar PV market shall thus reach a 30 GWp installed capacity in the coming years.”
From: https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/07/08/italian-solar-company-changes-hands/
