15 June 2009 - NextEnergy Capital, the European merchant bank specialising in renewable energy, has chosen Italy for its next solar power investments. In recent weeks Enerqos has given the green light for work to start on the construction of the first four solar farm installations in Apulia, Italy.

An agreement signed between the two companies last year outlined the construction of solar farms in Europe for a total investment of EUR1bn ($1.4bn). The value of these initial projects is approximately EUR20m.
 
The construction of the four farms, each with a 1 MW production capacity, will be undertaken by Enerqos and will use the latest technology to ensure both maximum facilities performance and the highest return on investment possible.
 
In particular, one of these farms will feature the biaxial Solar Totem tracking technology, patented by Enerqos, which will allow performance to be increased by 38 per cent compared to conventional fixed mounting systems.
 
All solar farms will be equipped with a sophisticated remote-management system, based on the Osiride PVE operating system also patented by Enerqos, to provide advanced service management for monitoring performance and the timely detection of any operational anomalies.
 
With its significant experience as an EPC contractor, Enerqos will manage all phases of construction: development and design, procurement of materials, systems-building/ management, maintenance and a twenty year performance guarantee in collaboration with a major European financial institution.
 
Under the agreement with Enerqos, NextEnergy currently has licensing permission under way for additional facilities in Apulia and Sicily, of which 37 MW will start construction later this year. Enerqos will also build additional plants for NextEnergy in Greece and France at a later date.