Austria’s Kelag Acquires Eight Agrivoltaic Projects in Northern Italy

Austrian energy company Kelag has purchased a portfolio of eight solar parks in Italy with a combined planned capacity of 64.4 megawatts, deepening its push into Southern European renewables through a format that combines agriculture and power generation on the same land.

The sites are located primarily in Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna, two of northern Italy’s most productive farming regions. Seven of the eight are ready for construction, with Kelag set to oversee both the building phase and subsequent operation of all projects over the coming years. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Italy has become a notable market for agrivoltaic development, partly because the country’s zoning rules around eligible land categories intersect with agriculture in ways that make the dual-use format not just attractive but, in some cases, necessary for solar projects to proceed. Public auction mechanisms have further encouraged this approach.

Kelag International’s head Ingo Preiss described solar energy as an important pillar of the company’s growth strategy and pointed to Italy as a market with strong long-term renewable potential. The deal was also shaped by an established working relationship with developer JUWI, according to M&A director Romeo Reichenhauser.

Sebastian Rossman, Kelag International’s regional manager in Italy, framed the acquisition in terms of project quality: “The agrivoltaic format reflects the type of projects we want to develop: technically reliable, commercially viable and designed with long-term sustainability and local context in mind.”

Source: PV-Tech