The Sicilian town of Vizzini near Catania is set to host one of Italy's largest agrivoltaic plants to be built by European Energy.
    The project is expected to become one of the largest in Europe.
    The Danish company has invested over 200 million euros in the 225.5 MV project.
    Once it is fully operational, the facility is expected to generate about 405 GWh of electricity annually, which will be sufficient to provide energy to over 135,000 households, nearly the equivalent of Catania's population.
    The project, the company explained, is part of a wider plan to transform energy provision and the environment.
    The challenge is not only to provide clean energy but also to produce it in a way that is compatible with the local territory and its history, the company added.
    "The project has been developed in close dialogue with local stakeholders and authorities, with a strong focus on integrating the facility into the surrounding area", said Alessandro Migliorini, Head of Public Affairs for Italy at European Energy.
    Filippo Ricci, the company's Country Manager for Italy, noted how "European Energy has established a strong development pipeline and local presence in Italy over the past 20 years, and we continue to see significant investor interest in large-scale renewable energy projects with strong resource quality, long-term visibility, and integrated land-use solutions".
    Denmark's ambassador to Italy, Peter Taks›e-Jensen, said "today's event is an example of the energy transition in Europe which deals with the way in which we can best build competitiveness and a resilient and prosperous future for our farmers and our companies".
    The plant combines utility-scale renewable energy generation with agricultural activities and will allow the coexistence of photovoltaic panels and rural activities including sheep grazing and maintaining crops.
    Some 820 sheep are in fact expected to be on site, confirming the integration between energy production and pasture-based farming.
    Jens-Peter Zink, Deputy CEO at European Energy, said "Vizzini is a project of a substantial scale with strong long-term fundamentals.
    "The combination of contracted revenues, advanced-stage development, grid connection and large-scale production capacity makes it an attractive asset profile within the European renewable energy market", he concluded.