This is your 1 News posts out of 3 that you are entitled to as a guest.

Please sign up for one of our PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTIONS to continue your access to Global Energy Infrastructure.

Lightsource bp in Italy continues to boost its utility scale solar portfolio

5/6/2021

Press release - 6th May, Milan – Lightsource bp

Lightsource bp and Horizon Firm’s deal brings new solar projects to Sicily and Apulia.

Pollinator protection and Agri-PV initiatives demonstrate the multiple land use capability of solar developments
These projects support the sustainable development objectives of the Ministry of Ecological Transition

Lightsource bp in Italy continues to boost its utility scale solar portfolio by acquiring three projects from Horizon Firm, a trusted developer specialized in solar, totalling 156MWp across the country. Two of the projects are based in Sicily, in a low solar plant massification density area, in the province of Agrigento: the Canicattì project (40.9 MWp) and the Torre di Mastro project (58.2 MWp). The third project, Manfredonia (57.4 MWp), based in Apulia, will be developed as an Agri-PV with the aim of virtuously integrating agriculture and renewable energy. These projects cast light upon the two regions’ strategic roles for the development of RES in line with the national objectives of energy production and decarbonisation.

Horizon Firm’s expertise has been instrumental in identifying and selecting solar project sites that can be developed responsibly to protect local ecosystems and continue agricultural practices. Lightsource bp has also entered into an exclusivity agreement with Horizon Firm to acquire an additional 130MWp of solar projects and aims to complete this transaction in the next few months. Also, for these projects, the companies will explore the potential benefits of adding an energy storage system. As well as maximising clean energy production this could also help support the island’s electricity grid infrastructure.

This latest partnership with Horizon Firm brings Lightsource bp’s Italian solar development pipeline to over 1.5GWp, providing a significant contribution to the country’s long-term commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. These three projects are expected to reach ready-to-build status in 2022.

These solar developments are forecast to stay in place for over 30 years and address some of the key challenges around the decarbonisation process. In fact, as the Minister of Ecological Transition, Roberto Cingolani, has stressed several times, that the strong advancement of RES represents one of the pillars to reach the ambitious European and national renewable energy growth goals.