ForVEI buys two solar farms in Italy from OPDE Group for EUR33M

The transaction adds up to the sale of three solar farms in September. Taken together, the five of them make 21.11 MW and EUR88M.

· The two OPDE solar photovoltaic farms acquired by investment firm ForVEI are in Tortona and Predosa, Alessandria (Piedmont).
· With a total capacity of 7.93 MWp and generating 12 GWh per annum, both plants are currently operational.
· The transaction was financed by Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo SpA.
· In September, ForVEI Venture had acquired three 13.17 MW solar farms developed by OPDE in Italy for EUR55M. The lease agreement was the largest ever signed in Italy with a single bank for investment in solar PV facilities.

Sponsors

The investment company ForVEI (a joint venture whose main direct and indirect stockholders are Palladio Finanziaria SpA, Assicurazioni Generali SpA, Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, Quercus Asset Selection Sarl, and Foresight Solar VCT plc), has acquired another two solar PV facilities for 7.93 MW developed by OPDE Group in the Italian region of Piedmont. The transaction, financed by Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, amounted to EUR33M (USD45M).

The farms, which are fully operational, are located in Tortona (6.19 MW) and Predosa (1.74 MW). They feature TRINA and Canadian Solar modules, SMA inverters, and MECASOLAR single-axis solar trackers.

The operation is the second stage of a larger agreement worth EUR88M between OPDE and ForVEI, since the investor had already bought three solar facilities from OPDE Group in Tortona and Alessandria for EUR55M (USD75M).

The transaction, which was closed in September this year and financed by Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, was the largest lease deal signed with a single Italian bank for investment in solar assets. Together, the three solar projects sold previously to ForVEI had a power of 13.2 MW, and the five solar farms acquired by the investment company total 21.3 MW.

OPDE sources said both transactions consolidated OPDE’s presence in Italy, where the group started developing another three solar PV projects totalling 10.5 MW in Q4 this year. They comprise new solar farms in Pozzolo Formigaro (4.1 MW), Sale in Piedmont (1.7 MW), and Pontestura (4.66 MW). To these we should add the development of a solar plant in Ablitas, Navarra, in Spain, for a total power of 8.8 MW, which began in September.

According to OPDE sources, the company is in contact with many clients and investment funds, both in Europe and in North America, for the sale of photovoltaic solar plants.

OPDE IN ITALY

MECASOLAR has an order portfolio of 42 MW in the Italian market, which means sales might exceed 100 MW in Italy in 2011.

In Italy, PROINSO has more than 697 Qualified Installers who are members of its International Network, comprising 1,700 installation companies worldwide.

Given all the activity and projects mentioned, OPDE is planning to develop solar PV facilities in different countries for a total power of 200 MW in 2011-2012, having connected a total 200 MW by the end of next year. This means the total investment as of the end of fiscal year 2012 will be EUR850M.//