MILAN, Sept 19 (Askume) – Renewable energy developer Sonnedix is increasing its solar capacity in Italy through a series of acquisitions, its chief executive told Askume, adding it is also looking to develop opportunities to store the commodity in the country.
The JPMorgan-backed operator, which entered Italy in 2010, on Thursday announced the acquisition of an 80 megawatt (MW) solar plant in Sicily from local renewable energy construction company Bluenova, a unit of the privately held Carlo Maresca Group.
The deal is part of a broader partnership with Bluenova, under which Sonnedix has purchased four solar farms (including Thursday’s deal) and will acquire six more by mid-2025 to acquire a portfolio of 10 power plants with a capacity of 250 MW.
Sonnedix said it could not disclose financial details of the deal.
Sonnedix Chief Executive Axel Thiemann said in a telephone interview with Askume: “By June next year, Sonnedix will increase its total operating capacity in Italy to around 800 megawatts, moving towards the target of reaching 1 gigawatt of capacity by the end of 2025.”
Thiemann said collaboration with Italian partners would be crucial to navigating the Mediterranean country’s regulatory framework, where national rules can be interpreted differently at a regional level, complicating the licensing process, especially for foreign investors.
“There’s a lot of work to do to really understand and explain and make sure it’s done correctly… but overall we’re excited about Italy as a renewable energy hotspot,” the Sonedix chief executive said.
Thimann said Sonnedix is awaiting final regulations on battery storage from the Italian government to unlock a range of projects already developed by investors.
“In Italy we have a lot of battery pipeline… we are waiting for the final validation of the regulations,” Tiemann told Askume. He added that operators would invest in the sector if they had long-term certainty about their revenue stream derived from battery storage commodities.
Italy is expected to publish rules for auctioning battery storage services early next year to unlock investment in the sector, which is seen as key to increasing the flexibility of renewable energy generation.
