Green Genius, a Lithuanian renewable energy company, has partnered with Eiffel Transition Infrastructure to establish a joint venture aimed at developing a 500MW solar park portfolio in Italy. Eiffel Transition Infrastructure is a newly launched fund that offers bridging equity for renewable energy infrastructure assets, managed by France's Eiffel Investment Group, and has a minority interest in the JV. The fund has agreed to an initial investment of up to €15m ($16.47m) to facilitate the development of the portfolio, with a commitment to further investments during the construction phase.
The solar park portfolio will be developed mainly in the Puglia and Sardinia regions of Italy and is expected to generate renewable electricity sufficient to power over 90,000 households, displacing 330,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually. Green Genius will lead the project's development up to the construction phase, while Eiffel will fund this critical phase to secure essential permits through equity financing. The construction works at the sites are expected to begin by the end of 2023.
This joint venture builds on the two companies' alliance, which started in 2019 with solar photovoltaic projects in Poland, Italy, and Spain. Green Genius CFO Rokas Bancevičius commented on the partnership, stating that the “green transformation in Europe requires significant amounts of capital in versatile forms.” He added that “this innovative capital solution offered by our partner brings flexibility and opens new opportunities in a complex process of developing renewables. Italy is one of our key markets where the company has already successfully developed projects in the past.”
Eiffel Infrastructure head Pierre-Antoine Machelon added that this investment is the result of a long-standing collaboration with Green Genius, with whom they are delighted to partner on this new platform. He further noted that this investment is the second investment in their equity strategy, launched in November 2022, aimed at accelerating the development of renewable projects in Europe through the Eiffel Transition Infrastructure fund.
The partnership between Green Genius and Eiffel Transition Infrastructure is a significant step towards achieving Europe's renewable energy targets and reducing carbon emissions. It highlights the importance of innovative capital solutions that bring flexibility and open new opportunities in the complex process of developing renewables.
