- Kommunalkredit Austria will support the development of 600 MW PV capacity in Italy
- This portfolio of 14 projects it being developed by CCE Solar Invest in Lazio, Tuscany and Apulia regions
- The loan will enable the company to secure requisite authorizations for the facilities and bring the portfolio to ready-to-build status by Q2/2022
Austrian bank Kommunalkredit Austria AG has approved an undisclosed amount to support the development of 14 solar PV projects in Italy, representing combined capacity of 600 MW. The beneficiary CCE Solar Invest is a joint venture between Austrian solar PV developer Clean Capital Energy Group GmbH (CCE Group) and Germany’s PV company enernovum GmbH & Co. whose major focus is on the Italian market.
The 14 PV facilities are planned to be located in Italy’s Lazio, Tuscany and Apulia regions. The 3-year short term loan has been granted to obtain authorization and other requisite permits so that the portfolio can reach ready-to-build status by Q2/2022.
Law firm Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) that advised the bank to finance these projects, termed the loan as one of the 1st solar development financings in Italy to date.
CCE Solar was set up to establish a pipeline of unsubsidized grid-parity PV plants in Italy. In November 2020, Austria headquartered CCE Solar’s parent companies concluded a long-term framework agreement with Hanwha Energy Corporation Europe for the development of a 200 MW PV portfolio and claimed to have developed a pipeline of 1 GW PV capacity in central and southern Italy.
Italy is considered a promising solar PV market in Europe as the government pays heed to long standing demand of the renewable industry to ease permitting and authorization process for utility scale renewable energy projects. IHS Markit expects Italy to exit with 1 GW PV capacity in 2021 and grow to around 3.5 GW annually by 2-25 (see IHS Markit Forecasts 1 GW PV For Italy In 2021).
