Fundraising

First Reserve offloads Italian solar assets

As part of the wave of solar consolidation in Italy, First Reserve has sold nine assets to Italian infrastructure fund manager Tages Capital.

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Private equity firm First Reserve has sold Italian solar assets from SunReserve to a subsidiary of infrastructure fund manager Tages Capital.

Tages Capital purchased nine solar farms with a 101MW combined capacity, including the 70MW Rovigo plant, one of the largest solar projects in Europe. First Reserve put the assets up for auction in July and drew offers of around €100 million, according to Reuters. Other bidders included Enel Green Power, F2I and Quercus Investment Partners.

Tages Capital launched Tages Helios to invest in the Italian solar sector, a market that is becoming more active as fund managers see the opportunity to consolidate dispersed assets from small-scale developers ready to sell. 

One example is Quercus Assets Selection, which is currently in the midst of raising a €150 million fund to focus on Italian solar.  NextEnergy Capital is also raising a €150 million fund for the same purpose.

First Reserve’s SunReserve platform owns solar assets in Europe and North America. Before this transaction, its portfolio capacity totalled 255MW.

International law firm Ashurst advised First Reserve on the sale. Its Milan-based team was led by energy partner Carloandrea Meacci.