German solar developer ib vogt has agreed to divest its 98.4MW solar portfolio to French solar energy producer Rubis Photosol for an undisclosed amount.
The solar portfolio includes ten photovoltaic and agrivoltaic projects in the Lazio region of Italy.
ib vogt solely funded the portfolio, then developed it along with two joint venture partners, Christoph Drewes Energieberatung and Hans Karl Pichler.
On reaching the ready-to-build (RTB) phase, the projects will be acquired by Rubis Photosol on a one-by-one basis over the following 12–18 months.
Two projects, with a capacity of 25MW, have already reached the RTB stage and were bought in June 2023.
The remaining eight projects are anticipated to reach RTB status in 2024.
Two of these have already secured permits for construction and six are in the advanced stages of development. Once they reach RTB status, they will be financed and developed by Rubis.
ib vogt CEO Anton Milner stated: “We are pleased to deliver this large portfolio to Rubis Photosol and support them in their first entrance into the Italian electricity market. All ten projects will be developed with close attention to their environmental and social impact.
“I would like to thank everyone involved in this transaction for their outstanding effort and support, allowing us to further achieve our goal of powering the energy transition.”
Rubis expects to begin construction at the end of 2023, and all the projects are scheduled for commissioning between 2025 and 2026.
The company will invest a maximum of €100m, including the cost of land acquisition.
Together, the ten projects will generate 150 gigawatt-hours of clean electricity annually.
Rubis Photosol co-founder and CEO David Guinard stated: “This is Rubis Photosol’s first acquisition abroad, marking our determination to position ourselves as a go-to developer and IPP in Europe thanks to the support from the Rubis Group.
“Leveraging our expertise built up in France since 2008 and the similarities between the Italian and French markets, this acquisition will enable us to accelerate the building of our integrated platform across the entire value chain. Our development, construction and maintenance teams bring our know-how to a booming market.”
