First Climate spin-off opens the door to continued development of its PV utility activities
Coversol Solar Investments GmbH has successfully closed a line of credit for its first portfolio of rooftop photovoltaic plants atop commercial buildings in Italy. The company ( formerly First Climate Solar Investments) has recently signed documents to solidify their partnership with the corporate lenders.
With the financing provided by Unifergie, subsidiary of Crédit Agricole Leasing & Factoring, and BPCE Energeco, Coversol Solar Investments GmbH (CSI) will be able to expand its large-scale renewable solar energy portfolio, running under the title “Barolo”. One of the largest of its kind in the Italian landscape, Barolo consists of more than 40 rooftop photovoltaic plants, which will ultimately add up to an energy generation capacity of 29 MWp. The new financing will fund the buildup of the project of Commercial and Industrial (C+I) PV plants.
Primarily located in Northern Italy, some of the C+I photovoltaic plants are also set for the southern region of the country. A unique element of this project is, with the exception of four 1 MW free-field projects, the plants are constructed atop commercial and industrial buildings, thereby safeguarding precious agricultural fields in a fertile region known for its vast and productive fruit and cattle lands. This type of adaptative and multi-use energy concept supports the aims of sustainable development in an innovative and measurable way. The project further demonstrates that there is a significant potential to make use of untapped roof space in the area of C+I energy supply.
“Given the current tailwinds we are experiencing in the PV industry and thanks to the strong foundational partnerships we were able to develop with the financial and operational partners, we are well-positioned to achieve our ambitions growth plan. The goal for next year is to have more than 45 MWp of additional C+I PV capacity developed and financed while our five-year plan foresees that in the year 2027, we will have close to 300 MWp of capacity in operation,” says Coversol founder and CEO Thomas Stetter.
Pictured (l-r): Silvia Dell'Atti (MCG, legal advisor), Lorenzo Tavacca (BPCE Lease Milan Branch), Gianluca Pappacena (MCG), Thomas Stetter (CSI), Arnaud Bertrand (Unifergie) at the contract signing.
CSI aims to make full use of the favorable sunny conditions in Italy. In addition to being excellently situated for solar irradiation, the national incentive program, backed by the Italian government, offers attractive tariffs suitable for these types of C+I plants. Also, there are additional special incentives for the asbestos removal on roofs, which is an integrated component of the project. Another added value for the businesses, which to operate under these roofs fitted with solar panels, is that they have first rights to profit from direct consumption tariffs under favorable and reduced rates offered by Coversol.
Pictures 2, 3, 4: The first third of the portfolio has already been constructed which yielded some representative images taken of the solar plants on a clear, sunny day in Piedmont earlier this year.
Financial collaborations with renowned credit lenders
Credit Agricole and BPCE Lease are leaders in renewable energy finance and provided the credit loans for this project. The loan facilities received support from a European Investment Bank (EIB) scheme. First Climate has acquired CSI’s Guarantees of Origin (GoO) for the next ten years and is looking forward to representing future projects with the partners.
CSI already has several other portfolios under development in addition to Coversol 1. These are also focused on Italian C+I rooftop projects under the national incentive program in combination with self-consumption of the generated energy. In parallel, CSI is working on extending its offering by developing additional portfolios for energy-intensive industries and energy communities.
The current "Barolo" project has advanced in a relatively short period, and a portion of the portfolio plants are already connected to the national power grid and injecting energy to it. The remainder of the plants are scheduled to be constructed, installed and commence operation – in the form of renewable energy generation – in the coming months.
About Coversol Solar Investments
Coversol Solar Investments is a company dedicated to the development and financing of photovoltaic C+I rooftop projects in Italy. The company was established in 2021 as Joint Venture between First Climate Group (Bad Vilbel, Germany) and SI Solar Investments GmbH (Zürich, Switzerland). CSI’s team members reside in Italy, Switzerland, and Germany. Their core competencies include the development, financing, and execution of renewable energy projects. More on Coversol Solar Investments.
