Octopus nets PPA deal for more unsubsidised solar sites in Italy

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

The developing post-subsidy solar market in Europe has taken another step forward with the news that UK-based investor Octopus has extended five power purchase agreements in Italy with renewable energy trader EGO Group.

The deal will see Octopus continue to supply EGO with power from a portfolio of five unsubsidised operational PV power plants with a capacity of 63MW until September 2023.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

It follows the announcement last week that Octopus had signed a similar PPA deal with Shell, under which it will supply power to the oil major from another five of its subsidy-free solar plants in Italy. Long-term PPAs between solar generators and off-takers such as EGO or Shell are seen as a key plank in the solar industry’s shift away from subsidies towards more market-oriented business models.

Under the latest deal, Octopus will provide EGO with electricity at a fixed contracted price valid until September 2023 for both energy and Guarantees of Origin, for which contracts were also signed. The five sites are located near Montalto di Castro in the Lazio region of Italy and were part of a €23 million (US$26 million) refinancing by Octopus earlier this year in January. EGO now has 103MW of solar PV power contracted with Octopus out of the total 173MW currently owned by Octopus in Italy.

Ed Pitt Ford, senior investment manager at Octopus, said: “In the current photovoltaic market, long-term purchase agreements have a fundamental strategic role. We have been working with EGO for almost two years and have nothing but praise for the manner in which they operate. We are pleased to entrust them with a significant share of our pioneering projects in Italy.”

Stefano Cavriani, founder and commercial director of EGO Group, commented: “This contract is another piece of the robust growth path that our company has undertaken in both traditional sectors and new markets. Following our positive performance in 2017 with turnover of €540 million (US$612 million) and €15 million (US$17 million) of EBITDA, we aim to consolidate our results this year and expand our activity in the PPA and demand-response markets.”

25 November 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Large Scale Solar Central and Eastern Europe continues to be the place to leverage a network that has been made over more than 10 years, to build critical partnerships to develop solar projects throughout the region.
2 December 2025
Málaga, Spain
Understanding PV module supply to the European market in 2026. PV ModuleTech Europe 2025 is a two-day conference that tackles these challenges directly, with an agenda that addresses all aspects of module supplier selection; product availability, technology offerings, traceability of supply-chain, factory auditing, module testing and reliability, and company bankability.
10 March 2026
Frankfurt, Germany
The conference will gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing out to 2030 and beyond.

Read Next

July 11, 2025
Solar firms submitted over 1,300 expressions of interest to the latest Italian government renewable energy tender, for a combined 17.5GW of proposed generation capacity.
July 11, 2025
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has revealed that several utility-scale solar PV power plants experienced curtailment of above 25% in the National Electricity Market (NEM) in 2024.
July 10, 2025
German renewables company BayWa r.e. has secured a €3 billion (US$3.5 billion) loan for 'operational initiatives and pipeline expansion.'
July 10, 2025
US renewables developer Invenergy has launched commercial operations of 250MW Fairbanks Solar Energy Center in Sullivan County, Indiana. 
July 10, 2025
Copenhagen Energy has partnered with Thy-Mors Energi to set up a 100MW PV and BESS project in Ballerum, about 370km from Copenhagen. 
July 9, 2025
Many European countries generated record levels of solar power in the first half of 2025, according to figures from Fraunhofer ISE.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 22, 2025
Bilbao, Spain
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK