Eni Completes 37 MW Agrivoltaic Plant in Lazio

Eni SpA and Infrastrutture SpA have completed the construction of a 37-megawatt (MW) agrovoltaic facility in the municipality of Montalto di Castro in the Italian region of Lazio.

“The plant is operational and will produce more than 70 GWh [gigawatt hours] of electricity annually, equivalent to the annual energy needs of over 22,000 households and will enrich Plenitude's portfolio of renewable energy production in Italy, where the company currently has more than 1GW of installed capacity”, Eni said in an online statement.

The plant is under Hergo Renewables, a joint venture in which Italy’s state-backed energy major Eni owns 65 percent through its renewables arm, Eni Plenitude SpA Società Benefit. Milan-based renewables investor Infrastrutture holds 35 percent.

“This transaction is just the first step in a broader pipeline of solar projects owned by Hergo Renewables, which extends to both Italy and Spain”, Eni said.

Paolo Bellucci, Eni head of renewable energy in Italy, said the plant is one of Eni’s biggest solar parks in Italy and “confirms Plenitude's commitment to renewable energy production growth in the country, in line with the company's goal of reaching 10GW of installed capacity from renewable sources by 2028”.

Eni said, “For the project realization, Hergo Renewables also collaborated with the National Biodiversity Future Centre, coordinated by the National Research Council, with the aim of ensuring full respect for the biodiversity of the area where the plant is located”.

In other developments, Plenitude, via its joint venture GreenIT, signed with Saipem SpA a deal for the application of the latter’s STAR 1 proprietary floating wind in two projects in Italy. The agreement involves Divento, a partnership between Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, GreenIT, 7 Seas Wind Power and NiceTechnology.

“STAR 1 is a technology developed for the making of semi-submersible floating wind foundations, born from Saipem’s decades of experience in the design, construction and installation of subsea infrastructures, able to offer a light industrial solution, easy to build, assemble and maintain”, a joint statement said.

It will be provided to the 7 Seas Med and Ichnusa Wind Power projects. 7 Seas Med, in the Strait of Sicily over 35 kilometers (21.75 miles) from the coast, has a planned capacity of 252 MW and a yearly production of about 800 GWh. Ichnusa Wind Power, about 40 kilometers from the southwestern coast of Sardinia, has a planned capacity of 504 MW and a yearly production of about 1.6 terawatt hours.

“Both initiatives are in the development phase and awaiting the completion of the definition of the regulatory framework for the first auctions for Italian innovative renewables technologies”, the statement said.

The collaboration between Divento and Saipem “represents a successful example of excellence in Italian engineering and cooperation between Italian and Northern European investors, aimed at creating value for offshore floating wind sector”, the statement said. “A technology which is potentially scalable on large volumes in Italy, representing at the same time a challenge and a unique opportunity for the domestic energy market and for the national production chain”.

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