Enertronica secures engineering contract for 50 MW of solar in the U.S.

Italian solar project developer and inverter manufacturer Enetronica Spa announced it has secured the engineering contract for the construction of two PV plants with a combined capacity of 50 MW in the United States.

The engineering services will be provided by Enertronica Inc, a new subsidiary, which will be based in Delaware and will have two offices in Massachusetts and Nevada. The plants will be installed between 2017 and 2018, the company reported.

The agreement, which is expected to be finalized by the end of this year, is worth approximately $500,000. The company said that, following the signing of this contract, it will be also involved in the construction of the two plants.

The full EPC contract supply will be provided by the company and its subsidiary specializing in the production of solar inverters Elettronica Santerno, whose U.S. unit Santerno Inc. has been active in the country for several years. Elettronica Santerno is currently providing O&M services for around 280 MW of PV plants in California.

Enetronica acquired a 51% stake in Elettronica Santerno from Italian industrial conglomerate Carraro Group in November 2016. The company acquired the controlling interest through the subscription of a capital increase in cash totaling €2.25 million ($2.40 million). Carraro said this sum was exclusively dedicated to the revival of the unit and in investments in R&D. Enertronica now has the option to acquire a further 8% interest through another capital increase of €1 million ($1.0 million) by the end of 2018.

According to Carraro’s 2016 financial results, Elettronica Santerno closed 2016 with total turnover of €36.1 million ($38.5 million), an increase of 2.8% compared to €35.2 million ($37.5 million) in 2015. Last year's results, however, do not include the month of December.