Sonnedix secures contracts in Italy for 805 MW solar power

Sonnedix, a renewable energy company backed by JP Morgan and sponsored by three Italian government schemes, has been awarded contracts to install 805 megawatts in solar capacity under three different government schemes.

Solar power, considered easier to develop than wind projects because of Italy's geographic characteristics, is playing a key role in the energy transformation in Italy. The country has become one of Europe's leading producers of clean energy.

Sonnedix already has more than 900 MW in Italy. The new contracts are expected to 'expand the existing pipeline of renewable energy projects and help it achieve its goal of providing 'clean electricity for industrial customers.

The auction was completed by Italy's Energy Services Agency in early December, under an incentive program known as FER X. It won 670 MW of capacity across nine solar sites.

It also secured 125 MW under the so-called "Energy Release Mechanism", ?which aims to give incentives for high-energy-consuming companies to switch to renewable sources. It also won an additional 10 MW in a bid reserved for solar projects built without equipment made in China.

Italy awarded 7,7 gigawatts in total of solar capacity through its FER X auction and an additional 1.1 GW for its first tender to projects that were built 'without Chinese components.

Sonnedix operates renewable energy projects in excess of 12 GW worldwide, with more than 6.7 GW in the pipeline and nearly 1 GW currently under construction. (Reporting and editing by Francesca Landini)

(source: Reuters)